Between The Lines
by lovinpeterpan
Summary: Ashley managed to get Leon to open up about his life while trying to survive for the night. Will they remain friends after surviving the nightmare?
1. Divulgence

Author's note: This is something that I wrote in one sitting. I started playing the game, I had the idea, and I wrote it down. I enjoyed writing this. I hope I captured their personalities even though I have only started playing the game! :) Here we go...

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><p>Leon and Ashley have been running endlessly in the woods to get away from the Ganados. The way they shouted Spanish words that Ashley did not even understand sent chills up and down her spine. The enemies seemed to be coming from all sides, and even stopping to breathe would be dangerous. The pair had no choice but to keep going to stay alive. They have been running for who knows long. The chilly night air enveloped them as they made their way in what seemed like an endless maze. Ashley could feel her legs were about to give out, but she knew that stopping at that point was not even an option. It didn't really help that it was night time, and the moon was their only source of light. She had no idea how Leon could navigate under very little light. But she was blind as a bat. She couldn't see anything within 2 meters.<p>

Exhaustion, fear and hunger were overcoming her, but she stopped herself from whining. The last thing Leon needed to hear is how hungry and tired she was. He already knew that.

She was about to beg Leon to stop when he said what she had been dying to hear.

"I see a house over there. Let's see if we can take shelter."

Ashley followed his eyes. There was a small house not too far from where they were at. It looked really dark inside, but it was better than none. This gave her a feeling of temporary relief. She gathered all of her remaining strength to get to the house as quickly as possible.

They managed to get far enough from the Ganados. They did not seem to notice where they went, and they eventually retreated.

As they reached the front door, Leon ordered her to stay put until he made sure that the house was safe.

Leon kicked the door open, and automatically pointed his gun at different places, anticipating for enemies. He wandered around with his highly trained eyes and ears. When he was absolutely sure that the house was empty, he called on Ashley. "You can come in now, it's clear."

Ashley let herself in, stopping just 2 steps way from the door. "It's dark. I can't see anything."

"Don't worry, I picked up a lighter, and there's a fireplace in here somewhere."

Leon navigated through the dark with his lighter, and found the fireplace. He lit it. It gave the room a faint glow. It was enough to light up the entire room, but not bright enough to attract the enemies.

He closed the door and worked on putting barricades on it. They were safe for now. Eerie silence followed, except for the sound of his boot on the wooden floor.

Ashley sat on her folded legs in front of the fireplace. She was getting a little cold, and the warmth provided relief. She stared blankly at the fire, too tired to think of anything. She had been up for 36 hours. If she didn't die from Ganados, she would die from sleep deprivation.

She heard his footsteps approaching her from behind. Leon knelt right next to her.

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" He said gently.

She shook her head from side to side, not taking her eyes away from the fire. "I'm fine, just really tired."

"I know. It's been a long day." Leon tapped her shoulder lightly. "Get some sleep. I'll keep an eye out."

Ashley nodded slightly. "Thanks Leon."

Leon got up and searched the house for anything useful. He went upstairs and found worn down single bed. It had one dirty pillow on it. He took the mattress and the pillow with him downstairs and laid it down right next to where Ashley was sitting.

"Here, I found this upstairs. It's nothing like the bed you sleep on at the White House, but it's better than this wooden floor."

Ashley looked at it and then at Leon. "What about you?"

Leon was a little taken aback. He wasn't used to being asked about his well being. It was always presumed that he could take care of himself.

"Don't worry about me. I'm used to sleeping on hard surface. Part of my training," he said, finding a location to lay his tired body on. He settled on the spot close to the door. He sat down and leaned his back against the wall, facing Ashley.

Ashley gave him a worried look. "But you're doing all the work here. I think you deserve a soft mattress more than I do. So take it." She slightly pushed the mattress towards him.

Leon looked at her in amusement. "That's cute, but I'm really good. It's for you. Besides, it's too small for me. My arms and legs are going to be hanging off the sides anyway." He tried to make a joke to lighten the mood.

It worked. She giggled. "You're so silly. Fine. I'll take the bed. But if I see you not sleeping, we're switching places, okay?"

"If that makes you feel better, sure." He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Getting tired of staring at the fire, Ashley turned his attention to him. "Leon?"

"Hmm?" He replied without opening his eyes.

She moved from the wooden floor to the mattress. It felt good to sit on a soft surface for the first time since she got captured.

"I'm sorry I got you in this mess."

"No, you didn't. Those evil bastards got us in here. And I'll get you out of here, I promise."

"You mean you'll get US out of here." She said, making sure she emphasized "us." "You need to start using that word."

He laughed softly. Leon had been trained to ensure the safety of other people first. His protective instinct overpowered him that his own safety became his last priority.

"I'm sorry, I meant us."

Ashley smiled. "Much better."

Leon opened his eyes and saw Ashley gazing at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

He sat right up quickly. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Ashley snorted. His constant worrying amused her. "Will you relax? I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out who you are."

He rested his back against the wall, putting himself at ease. His tired eyes looked up at her. "I'm a government agent. Do you need my ID?" he joked.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "I'm thinking of a more personal question, actually."

He wanted to catch some sleep but he figured it wouldn't hurt to answer one question. "Fire away."

She asked the thing that she had been wondering ever since she met him. "Are you married?"

Leon raised his left hand, showing its backside. "Never."

Ashley rested her elbows on her folded legs and cupped her face. "Why not?"

Leon sighed and fixed his gaze at the fireplace. "It's not easy to get married with the kind of work that I have. I get sent on missions after missions. It would be cruel of me to put a woman through that. Besides, I have already accepted my permanent bachelor status." He scoffed.

Ashley fell silent for a few seconds. She definitely heard the frustration in Leon's voice.

She chose her words carefully. "Look, I can't imagine any woman who would not want to be with you. I'm sure you'll find someone who would be willing to put up with the kind of work that you have. She's out there, Leon. You just have to find her." She said in sincerity. "Don't tell me there is actually a crazy woman out there who rejected you?"

He scoffed, again. "You have no idea. I already lost count."

Ashley's jaw dropped in disbelief. She could not believe that there are women – plural – who actually rejected Leon. Blasphemy. "Sorry, that's just unbelievable."

"It's true. You see, I'm not very lucky with women. I'd like to think I'm decent looking, but hey..." he trailed off.

Ashley could not wipe the disbelief look on her face. Decent looking? He was only the most gorgeous man she had ever laid her eyes on. What was she missing?

"That's just crazy. I don't understand why someone like you would get rejected. What kind of women are you into? Aliens?"

Leon chuckled. "Thank you Ashley, that's kind of you." He replied. "Hey, maybe I'll find an axe-carrying Spanish woman in here to take home with me," he joked.

Ashley laughed and turned serious again. "If you can't find a woman who will understand your line of work, have you tried finding someone in your line of work?"

Leon's facial expression changed. He became sullen, and in deep thought.

Ashley was embarrassed. It was probably too personal for him. "I'm sorry. I should really shut up and go to sleep. Good night Leon." She lay down on her back and stared at the ceiling. He was probably thinking she was nosy and obnoxious. Great, she thought.

Dead silence followed. She crossed the line, and she instantly regretted it. She hoped that by tomorrow, the awkward atmosphere would be gone like it never happened.

After the long silence, Leon spoke again. "It's cool. You want to know the answer, right?"

She was surprised by his willingness to talk. "I-if you're up for it, yeah." She replied without bothering to get up.

Leon lay down on his back as well. "I met this girl six years ago when I was just a cop. Have you heard of Raccoon city?"

"Yes. I was too young back then, but my father explained it to me, when he was still a Senator. It was all over the news."

"I used to be a cop there when that whole thing happened."

"You were actually there during the outbreak?"

"Yes. And I escaped."

"Oh my God," she replied, unable to hide her admiration. He was a Raccoon City survivor! If she was not mistaken, he was probably the only survivor she had heard of. From what she could remember, it was assumed that the majority of the population died after it was burnt to the ground.

"Anyway, while I was trying to escape, I met someone. A girl."

Recovering from her shock, she responded. "What's her name?"

"Ada."

He hesitated, and then continued. "I guess it was what they usually call love at first sight. I thought she was really pretty, and I immediately became attracted to her. She had a boyfriend at the time, and she was looking for him. I thought to myself, well, he's probably dead by now so why don't you pick me instead? But of course I didn't say that. Instead, I helped her find him. We looked after each other. I thought we had something, but I was wrong. She betrayed me. She didn't tell me she was a spy." Leon scoffed. "One minute, we were allies. Next thing you know, she was pointing a gun at me. It was like playing a twisted mind game with her every time, and yet…"

"…you're in love with her." Ashley finished the sentence for him.

Leon fell silent.

Ashley felt bad about bringing up that topic. It obviously struck a chord in him. _Me and my big, fat mouth!_ She told herself.

"I'm so sorry, Leon." She said apologetically.

"No, you're good. It's actually nice to talk to someone about it."

Ashley smiled upon hearing this. She was glad that he opened up to her. "Who knew you had a soft spot?"

Leon chuckled.

Ashley decided to change the subject.

"So what do you do on your free time? You do get days off, right?"

"Hardly. I work all the time. Ever since the government trained me, I have been working non stop."

She raised her right eyebrow in disbelief. "No vacations? Nothing? That must be miserable."

He let out a small laugh. "I'm used to it. I like what I do."

Poor guy, she thought. This brought upon an idea. "Tell you what, after this mission, I'll ask my dad to give you several months off to go take a vacation anywhere you want."

"Thanks Ashley, but that's not necessary."

"So necessary!" She blurted out. "Leon, don't be silly. You need it after this hellish nightmare. A lot of people would kill for a paid vacation."

"If I didn't do what I do, of course I'd love to take that offer. But I can't really relax knowing that there are evil people out there who will stop at nothing to conquer the world. I can't allow that, Ashley."

_Sheez. Spoken like a true American hero_, she thought. "I get that. I know you think it's your duty to save the world, but even heroes need a break every now and then." She pointed out. "Even Superman went on a hiatus for five years and guess what? The world didn't end." She said, matter-of-factly.

Leon formed a smile on his face. "You're persuasive, aren't you?"

"Just saying. At least think about it before you decline."

"Okay. I'll think about it." He said, even though he knew very well that it was not even option.

Ashley smiled and bit her lower lip. "Good." She sat right up and pulled the sweater from her neck to wear it. "God, it's really cold in here." She muttered and lay down on her side in a fetal position.

Her muttering didn't escape Leon's ears. He immediately got up and walked over to her side. He knelt down in front of her and placed his palm on her forehead. A look of concern registered on his face. "Ashley, you're burning up!" Upon closer look, Ashley's face was colorless. Her eyes had dark circles around it, and her lips were pale. "Damn it!" he muttered. _Could this be the Plagas kicking in?_

"I'm fine, go to sleep. This will go away tomorrow. I'll just sleep it off." Ashley tried to dismiss him. She did not want to make him more worried than he already was.

Leon didn't waste time. He got up and searched for water. Luckily, there was running cold water in the kitchen, but it was running very slow. Leon took off his shirt and put it under the water. When his shirt was fully soaked, he twisted it to get rid of excess water and came back to Ashley.

He knelt down again and put the wet cloth on her forehead. She flinched. "Hopefully, this helps lower your temperature."

"Am I dying?" She asked.

"Ashley, don't talk. You're not dying."

She was visibly shivering. He could only think of one way to make warm her up. He decided to lie down next to her and held her close to his body.

"What... are you doing?" Ashley asked in confusion.

"What do you think, I'm trying to warm you up. You're shivering."

Ashley looked up at him and smiled weakly. "I'm so useless. I feel so bad for you."

Leon looked straight over her head, not meeting her eyes. "Stop talking Ashley. Preserve your energy." He ordered.

She continued talking as if he didn't hear what he said. "If I die, I just want to let you know that it's not your fault, and you really did a good job here to—"

Leon interrupted her with a warm kiss on the lips. Ashley's heart was pounding loudly, she could hear it.

When Leon pulled away, he looked straight into her eyes. Her big hazel eyes were full of questions, but she couldn't voice them out. _Shit!_ he thought. _Restrain yourself, Leon!_

"You're not dying, and for the last time, stop talking."

She bit her lip and nodded eagerly, refusing to talk any further.

She buried her face on his chest and closed her eyes. She knew it would be impossible to get sleep after what happened, but she could try if she wanted to heal faster. As far as she was concerned, that kiss made her feel ten times better already.

She felt Leon kissed the top of her head. "You're not going to die while I'm here."

They only had to get through this night. Tomorrow, Leon swore he would finish Saddler and get Ashley out of that place.


	2. Parting ways

_Author's note: First of all, THANK YOU for the nice reviews that you guys left, I totally appreciate them! :-) _

_I finally finished the game (yay!), and I absolutely love it. That's why I feel inspired to write this. [Sidenote: I didn't like the ending. I don't think Ashley would say that!] This fanfic was supposed to be one shot, but I decided to write more. This will be just a short story about what happened to Leon & Ashley after they left the island. Are they going to be friends? More than friends? Maybe they won't ever see each other again, and he doesn't want to have anything to do with her. Or do they actually miss each other? I don't know. We'll see. :-)_

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><p><strong>16 hours later<strong>

Special Agent Leon Scott Kennedy and Ashley Graham arrived at the small island somewhere in Spain. Leon Jet Ski-ed to the nearest island, as per Hunnigan's instruction, and waited for their chopper to arrive. Not too long after they reached the island, a US military chopper landed. His superiors took them to the small airport on the island, where The President and the First Lady were waiting for them. As soon as Ashley stepped on the runway, she ran towards her family, leaving Leon behind. "Mom! Dad!"

The reunion was indeed a touching sight. Leon, and most people, had not seen the President so emotional before. It was surreal to see the most powerful man in America break down in tears.

He looked around and immediately noticed the lack of media. The secret service heavily covered the area, making sure that no one took pictures. The President must have really kept it under wraps. Leon guessed that nobody knew about this, except the first family, the secret service, a few Spanish policia and a few selected cabinet members. Though, it was completely understandable. If this got leaked in the media, it would cause massive panic. Imagine turning your TV on and watching the news about the kidnapping of the President's daughter by a religious cult who used mind-controlling parasite. People would be more paranoid than they already were.

After reuniting with his daughter, the President shook Leon's hand with both of his hands. "I am forever indebted to you, Agent Kennedy. My daughter means the world to me."

The President, who usually looked well put together in the media, looked really exhausted. Leon could only imagine what he and his wife had gone through while Ashley was gone. These were the moments that made Leon proud to do what he did for a living. He saved lives, and no amount of money in the world would make him do otherwise.

Leon glanced at Ashley, who was tearfully hugging her mother. "I just did my duty, sir. It was not all me; Ashley helped me a lot. You raised a smart girl. You should be proud of her."

Ashley stole at glance at Leon, who was exchanging conversations with the President, and his superiors. She couldn't help but stare at him. He risked his life for her. He could have escaped when he knew about the level of danger they were in. He could have faked the report, tell them that she was killed, removed the parasite in his body and ran off. He could have escaped the first chance he got and saved himself the trouble.

But he stuck around. He did not give up. She understood that it was just a mission to him, but she swore that there were moments when she saw genuine concern in his eyes. Or maybe she imagined it. Hunger and sleep deprivation could trigger hallucinations in anyone.

But there was one thing she was sure of - she fell in love with Leon. Her father had to send a ridiculously handsome agent to save her? Not to mention brilliant, strong and kind? It was impossible, almost unthinkable for any girl in her position to not feel the way she did for him. Her father definitely knew what he was doing when he sent Leon to rescue her.

While she secretly adored him, he, on the other hand, was oblivious to her budding attraction. He was so focused on keeping them alive. There was no way he could have noticed her affection for him, and Ashley was thankful for that. The last thing Leon needed was a love struck girl who wouldn't stop ogling him.

It wasn't like she planned on falling for her rescuer. In fact, she thought it was so cliché so she tried to brush it off. But no matter how hard she tried to put her feelings aside, she could not. It was so real to her. She cared about him so much that she feared for his life more than her own. Getting kidnapped, tied up, and thrown around, she could handle. Seeing Leon in pain and almost close to death, that was too much to bear for her. If anything happened to Leon, she swore she would beg them to kill her as well.

Part of her was slightly offended when he rejected her advances; part of her was thankful for that. Leon was a respectable man. If he was any other guy, he would have taken advantage of her vulnerability. Not once did he make any sexual reference, unlike that poor Luis Sera guy. He was very professional the entire time. She was quite glad that Leon was not that kind of guy. More reason why she was enamored by him.

At one point, Ashley thought that maybe he was into her as well. She interpreted his protectiveness as something else. When he kissed her the night she got sick, she thought it proved what she had been suspecting all along. She later realized how wrong she was. They never talked about the kiss after that night. It was as if it didn't happen. Maybe she only dreamed it. Maybe. But if she didn't, she knew that Leon meant nothing by it. Either he only got caught up in the moment, or he just wanted to pacify her desperately. Nevertheless, Leon never mentioned it, it was never discussed, and it never happened again. It was already a closed cased even before it opened.

Now that the horror was officially over and they were heading home, a new kind of suffering dominated her. She dreaded the idea that she might never see him ever again after this. It had been bothering her during their entire Jet Ski trip to the mainland. That was all she could think about – that she would never see Leon again. His mission was over. They were over. They would go about their normal lives after this. Leon would get his next assignment, and she would continue her life as a typical 20 year old college student. Their lives could not get any more different. There was no way their paths could cross again.

This thought almost paralyzed her. She had already gotten used to his presence and she couldn't imagine going through the rest of her life without him. She didn't know if he felt it too, but as far as she was concerned, they had a connection of some sort. She felt a connection with him that she hadn't felt with anyone else. She had grown so dependent on him. She had never met anyone so strong, so kind and so caring. But no matter how much she loved him, she knew that the feeling was never going to be mutual. She already accepted that fact and she was fine with it. Leon was too perfect for her anyway. What would a highly skilled, in-demand, special agent do with a clumsy 20-year-old college girl? As much as it pained her, she knew that Leon deserved better. And when she wished him luck in finding the right woman for him, she meant it.

She did not even realize the tears that kept running down her cheek. It was probably a combination of exhaustion, sadness upon leaving without Leon and happiness upon seeing her family again.

"Let's go, honey." The First Lady motioned to the plane that was waiting for them.

She looked from her mom to Leon. "Could you please give me one minute? I just need to talk to Leon really quick."

Her mother nodded and proceeded to board the plane.

Ashley started walking towards the group of men. She did not have to hear their entire conversation to realize what was going on. It looked like they were awed by Leon. They looked at him as if he discovered a gold mine or a new island. She was not surprised. She saw him in action with her own eyes.

She was not one to interrupt her father's conversations, but this was an exception. She had to have a talk with Leon before he disappeared on her forever.

As she drew nearer, the President noticed her at the corner of his eye and wrapped his arm around her. "Ready to go home?"

"I am, but I'd like to talk to Leon before we go," her tired eyes looked at Leon, "if you have a minute to spare."

Although a little surprised, Leon responded. "Yeah."

The other men politely removed themselves and boarded their chopper.

The President gestured towards Leon. "He's all yours. Five minutes, honey." Mr. Graham extended his right hand again to Leon for a handshake. Leon took it and the men shook their hands. "Thank you, Agent Kennedy. Please send me a copy of the full report as soon as it's available."

"Yes, sir." He responded. The President left Leon and Ashley and boarded the Air Force One.

Ashley glanced shyly at Leon.

"Hey." Leon smiled. It was the smile that made Ashley fall for him. She'd give anything to see that face every waking day of her life.

Ashley gave him a quick smile. "Are you riding with us?"

"No, I don't think so." Leon glanced at the chopper that was waiting for him. "I am going straight to the office to give a full report. And who knows where I'll end up later." He said, truthfully.

"What? Are they actually serious? Can't they give you enough time to actually get a full night rest?" She was genuinely upset about this. If she was tired, then Leon must be doing worse. But strangely, he did not look tired at all. If he was, he was hiding it well. He always looked energized, as if he wasn't sleep deprived. Where Leon got his energy, she didn't know.

"That would be nice but the information I have is time sensitive." Leon explained. "I'll be okay. Don't worry."

Ashley nodded. "Okay." Looking down, she bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears. "I guess I'm never gonna see you again, huh?"

Leon knew the answer to this, but he did not want to let her down again. "I can't tell, but if we ever meet again, I sure hope it's under better circumstances."

To his surprise, Ashley threw herself in his arms and hugged him as if her life depended on it. She didn't bother to hide her tears anymore. She was exhausted – physically, mentally and emotionally. She did not have the energy to hide what she really felt.

"I'll miss you." Her voice shook. "I will really, really miss you, Leon."

Leon returned her embrace. He was not comfortable with the idea that this time, it was him who made her upset. He felt so protective of her during the entire time, and the fact that he was the cause of her pain right now was not sitting right with him.

Leon rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I'll keep in touch."

Ashley pulled away and managed to smile. "You should. I don't know about you, but I consider you my friend, Leon. Maybe we could hangout sometime, if that's alright with you?"

Leon said nothing.

She laughed uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, did I just put you in an awkward position again? I need to stop doing that. It's getting embarrassing."

"Ashley, I'm sorry…"

Ashley gave him an understanding smile. "No, don't be. I know it's too much to ask. Anyway, I still want to be friends." Ashley looked at him with hopeful eyes. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Okay. But I don't make a good friend though. I'm always away." He joked.

Ashley smiled back at him. "I don't care. You're my friend. Everyone needs a friend, no matter how demanding their jobs are, right?"

He shrugged. "I guess you're right."

Wiping her tears away, she looked straight into his eyes. "You have to promise me one more thing, Leon."

Leon met her eyes in slight confusion. "Okay."

"Whatever you do, don't die. Promise?" Her big, hazel eyes were begging him, as if saying "no" would be the biggest mistake.

He slightly chuckled at this, but at the same time, he was surprised. He was not going to lie; he was touched by her concern. Not many people care whether he lived or not. It was nice to know that somebody care for his survival, not because he was Leon Kennedy, a top government agent, but because he was Leon Kennedy, a human being.

"I'll do my best." His thumb automatically brushed the tears that fell on her already wet cheeks.

One of the President's bodyguards approached the couple and turned to Ashley. "1 minute," he reminded. The crew, including her family, was just waiting for Ashley to board.

Leon looked over her head. "Looks like you need to go."

"I know." Without warning, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and mouthed "thank you" before running off. He was caught by surprise but it made him smile.

Ashley waved at him one more time before boarding Air Force One. Leon waved at her and the door finally closed. The plane took off not long after.

Leon watched the plane as it ascended. He felt a deep sense of satisfaction upon bringing Ashley back to her family. Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same thing about his friend, Mike.

When the plane was out of sight, he finally boarded the chopper.

"Have we notified Mike's family?" Leon asked one of his superiors, Dave Miller, as soon as he boarded the chopper. Miller nodded. "His mother is in the hospital as we speak. She had a heart attack upon hearing the news. We'll make sure that they are taken care of."

Leon nodded. Mike was a big loss to everyone he knew.

But he had no time to grieve. As much as it saddened him, there were more important things to attend to.


	3. Wake up call

Ashley Graham watched Leon's chopper from the plane window. The only bad thing about going back home was not knowing whether she would see Leon again or not. She trusted that he would keep his promise to keep in touch. That was good enough for now. At least it gave her something to hold on to.

The doctor on board immediately checked her vital signs. She was given an IV due to dehydration. Luckily, she was not too ill. She only complained about a headache. The doctor advised her to lie down and she obliged. She was positioned next to the window and watched the view outside.

She felt a comforting hand on the top of her shoulder. The First Lady sat next to her. "Can I get you anything?"

Ashley turned her head towards her mother. "I'm fine." She wished she was on that chopper with him. _Why couldn't they ride together on one plane_, she mentally complained.

"You look so sad," her mother noticed.

"I miss having Leon around." She uttered before she could stop herself.

Mrs. Graham looked around to see if her husband was listening. He was on the phone in the conference room.

"You miss Leon?" She definitely saw the twinkle in her daughter's eyes when she mentioned him. "What do you mean you miss him? You just talked to him five minutes ago."

Instead of answering, Ashley just gave her mom a meaningful look. "I know."

Mrs. Graham instantly knew what she meant.

The First Lady pushed her daughter's hair away from her face. "You were pretty emotional back there. What did you tell him?"

Ashley looked outside the window and blushed, trying to suppress her smile. "I was just thanking him for everything that he had done, that's all."

"He's the best, that's why your father sent him."

Ashley nodded in agreement and looked into the distance. "Yeah. He is perfect."

"It looks like you've found a big brother in Leon, haven't you?"

She sighed and replied, "I guess" with a heavy heart. For some reason, it brought her pain to think that she might be just a little sister to him.

Soon enough, Ashley fell asleep. She would wake, up later when they land.

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><p>After putting together his own account of what happened in Spain, Leon was finally allowed to go home. One of his fellow agents, Carter, offered him a ride back home. He was in no condition to drive. He was exhausted as hell.<p>

"Man, that shit about Krauser, that's so fucked up. He used to be a good guy." Carter pointed out as they sped off the highway. It was already around 9 in the evening. Leon still couldn't believe that only 16 hours ago, he was fighting for his life. It was as if he had just awoken from a really bad nightmare.

Leon snorted. "You can say that again. You should have seen the parasite that grew out of his arm. Unbelievable." He shook his head upon remembering it. It was a horrible sight. But then again, that was not worst thing that he had seen.

"Never liked the dude anyway. Something about him gave me the creeps for some reason." Carter shook his head. "And who the hell would want that parasite in their body? Definitely not me. I don't think that thing is very appealing to the ladies, wouldn't you agree, Leon?" He laughed. Leon joined him.

"You're damn right, it's not."

"Say, do you want to go to the bar before heading home? Drinks on me."

"I'd go anytime, you know me, but not tonight. I've taken some meds."

"Oh, that's right, what was I thinking? Anyway, just take a nice, long rest, bro. After all you've been through, you deserve to sleep for days without interruption."

Leon scoffed. "Wish me luck."

They reached Leon's apartment within half an hour. The success of his mission made him a fortune—more paycheck than he had ever seen in his life – but Leon was not materialistic. He did not see the point in buying a house when the nature of his job demanded him to be constantly moving from place to place all the time. Plus, he was living solo. He didn't need to live extravagantly.

Agent Carter parked in front of Leon's apartment complex. "Here we are."

"Thanks for the ride, man. I owe you a drink." Leon stepped out of the car.

"Don't mention it, Leon." He was about drive off when he remembered something. "By the way, Hunnigan asked me to give you this."

Carter handed him a small folded piece of paper. _Is this what I think it is?_

He stared at the paper in confusion. He was just talking to Hunnigan in the headquarters. She maintained professional when she was collecting information from him. What could she possibly have for him on that paper? "Uh, thanks." The agent nodded and drove off.

He unfolded the paper and he was right. It had a phone number scribbled across. He couldn't help smile to himself.

"Well, look at that." He mumbled as he turned the key of his apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>Later that night.<strong>

As soon as they arrive at the White House, The President left for another city against his will. As much as he wanted to spend time with his daughter, he had to give an important speech that day. He promised to be back soon.

After showering, Ashley locked herself in her room at the White House. It was past 11 pm and she was nowhere near ready to go to bed. She was unable to sleep and it was frustrating her. She was absent-mindedly watching TV, and flipping the channels.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door. "It's me," her mother called. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, come in, mom."

Mrs. Graham let herself in and closed the door behind her. She proceeded to sit on the edge of Ashley's bed and looked at her with concern. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "Can't sleep." She paused and continued, "it's still all too fresh in my head."

"Why don't you sleep in your brother's bedroom for now?"

Ashley has a nine year old little brother named Aidan. He, too, had no idea what really happened with Ashley. He was too young to understand.

She shook her head. "It's okay, I'll be alright. Besides, I don't think Aidan's snoring will help me sleep anyway."

Mrs. Graham smiled. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" She wondered. Ashley hadn't said anything about the incident since she arrived.

Ashley turned the TV off and gave her full attention to her mother. She bit her lip and spoke. "You know what mom, they're right. You never really know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have." She said with sincerity. "What happened there is going to stick with me for the rest of my life, but without Leon, I don't know if I could have had the courage to survive."

Obviously intrigued, Mrs. Graham shifted in her seat and looked straight into her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is… Leon did more than rescue me; I think he may have saved my sanity too."

Intrigued, she encouraged her daughter to elaborate. "How?"

She shrugged and looked down. "I don't know… There's just something about him that made me forget that we were in an extremely dangerous situation. He just made everything looked easy," she narrated in amazement, "while I just ducked down, trying to get out of his way." She chuckled and continued, "I don't know…" she trailed off, looking outside of her window, "…he made me feel like my life mattered. And that meant a lot to me. I felt like he really cared about me." She smiled at her mother, feeling a sense of relief that she finally talked to someone about it.

Her mother just smiled back at her without saying anything.

Ashley narrowed her eyes at her mother, smiling. "You're giving me a weird look. Do I sound crazy? I know it's hard to believe that he did all that for me, but I promise, he's… sort of special, you know… I mean, not in a weird way, but…" she trailed off.

"You don't sound crazy at all. I believe every word you said. The fact that you're speaking highly of him is already enough proof that he did an exceptional job."

"I think he deserves a freaking medal or something, but that's just me." She shrugged playfully. "Or you know, a month vacation," she suggested, remembering her promise to Leon.

Mrs. Graham let out a small laugh. "I'm sure Leon is well compensated for his excellent work." She glanced at Ashley's bedside clock. "Well, it's getting late. Are you sure you don't want to sleep in our bedroom?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm 20 years old. I'll be okay."

"Okay, if you say so." Her mother got up and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "See you in the morning, honey."

"Good night mom."

As soon as her mother closed the door, she turned the TV back on and flipped channels. There was nothing better to do at that point.

She wondered how Leon was doing – if he was having the same fear as she was. Or maybe he was desensitized already.

She hoped he was doing better than she was. Because she was certain that as soon she closed her eyes, she was going to have nightmares.

* * *

><p><strong>The next morning…<strong>

Feeling exhausted with a massive headache, Ashley rolled over to the other side of her bed and glanced at her bedside clock. It was 7:45 am. It didn't matter what time she woke up anyway. She was allowed to stay in bed all day if she wanted to. She just hoped that no one would bother her today.

Needless to say, Ashley was unable to get a complete rest. She went in and out of consciousness, while she left the television on. When she fell asleep, she would see those creatures in her dream, causing her to jerk awake. It had been that way for her the entire night. She even cried in frustration and fear, but she fought the urge to run to her parents' room to seek comfort. She would rather keep her suffering to herself. She thought it was unnecessary to make her parents worry about her more than they do. She would fight, and she would conquer her fears.

In the middle of her ruminations, her mother came knocking at her door, and she wasn't happy about it.

"Ashley? Are you awake? Open the door, honey," She said in a cheerful voice.

Feeling cranky due to lack of sleep, she refused to open the door. "Mom, I'd like to get more rest, please."

"That's okay, honey, I'll just let Leon know you're not feeling well."

As if she had been splashed in the face with cold water, she immediately stood up and made a mad dash to her door. She didn't care whether she looked like a complete mess due to the fact that she just rolled out of bed. She opened the door with anticipation. "What?" she asked incredulously.

She noticed her mother with a cordless phone in her hand. She was covering the mouthpiece while waiting for Ashley's decision.

Without saying a word, Ashley reached out her hand. Smiling, her mother handed her the phone and walked away. She closed her door and bit her lip. She slowly brought the phone in her ear.

"Hello?" She answered softly.

"Ashley, did I wake you?"

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice. Her crankiness, and her bad mood has melted away.

"N-no, not at all."

"Good. I just want to know how you are. I worry about you."

She inevitably smiled upon hearing that. "You do?"

"Of course. How are you holding up?" He asked in concerned tone.

She walked to her bed and lay down on her stomach. "Not good. I had difficulty sleeping. I keep seeing them in my head. It's brutal," she said in frustration, but she was also glad to be able to tell someone about it. Only Leon would understand what she was going through, and his timing couldn't be more perfect.

"I understand. I know exactly what you mean." He replied sympathetically.

She sighed. "Does this ever go away?"

There was a long pause before Leon answered. "I'm not gonna lie to you; Your symptoms won't go away completely."

This almost brought tears to her eyes. "Great. Just great."

"But you can handle this, Ashley," he quickly replied upon hearing her hopelessness. "You're a brave girl. It's not going to be this bad forever. Just hang in there, okay? Make sure you see your therapist regularly."

She was incredibly touched by his concern, even though it was not for reasons that she was hoping for. But it didn't make her love him any less. Whether Leon was doing his job as protector or he was just being nice to her was completely irrelevant. She was already happy about the fact that he wanted her to get better, regardless of his reason. "Thank you. I'll certainly keep that in mind."

"That's what I want to hear."

"But there's one more thing," she uttered.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing. I just want to say that I really miss you." She laughed awkwardly knowing that she was putting herself out there again, "Why do I miss you this much when I just saw you yesterday? How crazy is this?"

Caught off guard, Leon was unable to respond. He let out a small laugh. "That's interesting."

"Sorry," she said softly. "Don't get mad."

"Mad? No, not at all. I myself had a similar experience this morning..." he trailed off.

Ashley waited but he didn't continue. Dying of curiosity, she asked, "aren't you gonna tell me what it is?"

"Never mind."

"Oh, I get it. You were going to say you miss me too, weren't you?" She joked even though in reality, she knew better.

"I was going to say that I woke up this morning with the strong urge to call you."

"Really? And why is that?"

"I want to know that you're okay. I'm worried about you. I don't want you to feel like you're alone in this."

Somehow, she felt like there was something more to it than that, but she didn't inquire further. She realized that she was over-thinking this again. "Thanks, but I'll be fine. Try not to worry about me. I don't want you to feel obligated to check on me."

"Except I'm not obligated to do this. I'm doing this because it makes me feel better to know that you're okay. It's one thing to bring you back alive, and it's another thing to make sure you are functional. That's my main concern."

_It makes me feel better to know that you're okay_. It took her awhile to digest what he just said. She took a deep breath and realized that she might be falling harder for him. "Okay, agent. I hear you. I'm still sane and fully functional as far as I can tell."

"Good. I hope you keep this up. It's gonna be an uphill battle but you're not alone in this."

Awkward silence followed. Both of them waited for the other to say something but neither of them spoke. After a few seconds, Leon finally spoke. "Uh, I gotta go. I have few things to attend to. I'll keep in touch."

"Sure. Thanks for the call, Leon. This made my day." That was an understatement. That five minute phone call may have made her lifetime.

"No problem. Talk to you later."

"Later."

She clicked the phone off, overwhelmed with happiness. She didn't expect to hear from him soon, but his concern touched her.

Now she would have had to find a way to forget her feelings for him somehow. It would not be easy, but she had to try. Because if she continued having feelings for him, she knew that she would get hurt in the end.

Her stupid feelings had no room in Leon's life and she better get used to it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note: O M G! Thank you for the reviews! So yeah, I thought I was done but I just had to keep writing. I am kind of having fun with this. Don't know how to end this but... I'll work on it. :) Thank you for reading this! Much appreciated! :-)<strong>_


	4. Appreciated

After talking to Leon, Ashley showered and dressed up nicely. She decided that she did not want to waste the day lying in bed all day. It was as if Leon gave her the boost that she needed.

She was ready to take on the world, thanks to him.

She picked a knee length floral dress to wear and put on a light make up. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She liked being back to normal.

Just as she was ready to head out, someone knocked on her door. "Coming!" she yelled. Opening the door, she smiled. To her surprise, standing in front of her was her father, carrying a tray of food. "Hi dad!"

"Good morning sweetie. Brought you something to eat." He said, raising the tray of food.

She was amazed at her father's thoughtful gesture. He would always find time to spend time with her whenever he can.

"Aww dad, you didn't have to."

"Nonsense. I'm not letting my daughter starve." The President let himself in and set the tray down.

Ashley smiled and sat on the bed. "Thanks dad."

Her father proceeded to sit on the other side of her bed. "How was your sleep?"

"It was good," she lied.

"Well, the dark circles around your eyes say otherwise."

"Oh, uh, I am still adjusting to the timezone, I think." She felt bad for lying to her father but she wasn't going to make him more worried than he already was.

Luckily, he didn't inquire further. He opened another topic instead. "I had a long talk with Leon over the phone."

Ashley stared at her father, wondering what their conversation was about. He continued. "As you may know, he is no longer serving as your secret service detail. He had taken on another duty."

Even though she knew this already, it still made her sad. "Why can't he just give that duty to someone else?"

He thought about this for a minute and carefully worded his response. "He's the only person who can conduct a certain investigation. I can't go on details, but because of his experience, Leon has more valuable information than anyone, and his involvement in the investigation is extremely important. As a result, he can no longer fulfill his secret service duties."

She nodded with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Okay."

This didn't go unnoticed by her father. "Does this upset you?"

"A little bit. I really liked him, dad."

Her father gave her a curious look.

She continued, "I mean, not like that. I liked him because he is a great agent. I honestly don't think anyone could have done a better job than him."

He nodded in agreement. "We are very lucky to have him."

"Did he um… mention anything about me?"

"He certainly did."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm sure he told you about how bratty I was."

"No. He was saying how great you are. He said he couldn't have done it without your help. I'm so proud of you," he replied, looking at her with pride.

Looking at her father disbelief, she narrowed her eyes at him. She was pleasantly surprised. Was Leon actually praising her?

"Are you sure he said that? I think I did the opposite"

"Oh, I think Leon knows what he's talking about."

She began to wonder why he was so appreciative of her, when he did not mention it when they talked just an hour ago. "Well, that's nice of him, but I think the trauma may have altered his memory a little bit."

The President laughed at this. "I think I'll stick to his word."

Ashley became serious again. "Dad, just make sure he's okay. That's all I ask."

He put his hand on her hand and looked at her in the eyes. "Don't worry. His safety is my number one concern. We can't afford to lose a soldier like him."

Mentally, she wanted to say, _"Well, he's not a soldier to me. He's the love of my life."_

"Dad, I just want to make it clear that I care about Leon like he's my own family. And if something were to happen to him, it would make me upset. Really upset."

"Nothing's going to happen to Leon. You have my word."

"Thanks dad. You're the best." She walked to where her dad was sitting and gave him a hug.

Just as they pulled away, someone came knocking on the door. "Sir, you have a phone call."

"I'll be right out!" he said. He looked at his daughter and shook his head. "Politics."

Ashley giggled and gently pulled her father towards the door. "Get out of here before they think you're slacking."

"See you later sweetie." He kissed her daughter on the forehead and opened the door. As soon as he stepped out, he was swarmed by the staff. They said their hellos to Ashley before proceeding to their destination. "Your food is getting cold!"

"I'm on it!"

She closed the door and ate her breakfast in peace. As she munched her food, her eyes wandered. She fixated her gaze on the calendar pinned to her wall and read her note on one particular date.

"November 21 – Biology paper due, Creative Writing exam at 4"

She stopped munching halfway. _Shit,_ she thought. That was two days from now. She had a little panic attack. She never missed an exam and she never failed to submit papers. She took education very seriously.

She decided that she would go back to school as soon as possible, whether her parents approved or not.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note: Yay! Thank you thank you thank you for leaving comments. They make my day, like you wouldn't believe. :) I guess I love the fact that you take time to read it, not to mention leave a comment. :) Much appreciated.<em>**

**_I thought I was done with this story, but these ideas keep floating around my head... haha :) I have to admit that Leon's character is more challenging to write than Ashley's. I'm trying to make him show more emotions without straying away from his character. Again, tha__nks for liking this, and I hope you like this short one. :) Take care._**


	5. Conflict of interest

Much to her delight, she was able to convince her parents to allow her to return to Massachusetts to finish the semester, but it took a lot of persuasion on her part. Her family just got her back and she still needed to recuperate. But her parents understood her dedication to school. She was allowed to leave tomorrow with a few conditions:

First, her therapist should be able to conclude that she was mentally and emotionally capable of going back to school.

Second, she would have to go home on the weekends.

And third, she must have six secret service details with her at all times.

She wasn't crazy about the idea of having four men follow her around wherever she went, let alone six, but she understood the need for additional security.

"Six bodyguards 24/7," she muttered to herself. "Sounds like a blast."

Suddenly, Bridgit, a tall brunette appeared on her doorway and knock on the door to get her attention. She was a White House staff who worked closely with her mother. She was a statuesque beauty who reminded her of Hunnigan. "Ashley, the doctor is here."

"Doctor?" She asked. She had not been told that she was going to get visited by a doctor.

"Dr. Warren, the therapist."

As soon as she heard the name, she immediately recognized it. She had been told by her mother that a certain Miss Warren would come and see her today. "Oh, that's right. I'll be right there. Thanks Bridgit."

After an hour of session, Dr. Warren talked to her parents briefly. Lucky for her, the therapist was on her side. The doctor thought that going back to school would be good for her recovery. She really liked the session more than she expected. She was required to visit her therapist once a week, or as often as needed.

* * *

><p>On the evening of Tuesday, two days after her session with Dr. Warren, Ashley was ready to fly back to Massachusetts. She wanted to go back to school early so she would have time to study for her upcoming tests, but Tuesday night was the earliest she was allowed to leave. She was hoping to catch her roommate awake when she arrived.<p>

Her mother and father were standing in the driveway, waiting for her. "Are you sure you don't want to wait until next semester?" She asked as her daughter approached.

Ashley nodded. "I'm positive. I've already done so much work for my classes. I don't want to go through them again. It'll be okay, mom. I'll be fine. I'll still come home on the weekends."

Her mother made a quick smile. "Okay. Just wanted to make sure. Well, you have to get going."

She walked a step closer to her mother and gave her a hug. "Love you mom."

"Love you too."

She pulled away and gave her father a hug as well. "Love you dad."

He hugged her back. "Love you. No sneaking out of your secret service detail, okay?"

Ashley pulled away and chuckled. "No sneaking out. That's our deal."

With that, she stepped in the black SUV with two of her secret service details while the other four were in separate cars, following them. The two agents who were in the car with Ashley were new, and she hadn't seen them before, so she decided to introduce herself. Both were seated in the front. They looked like they were only a few years older than her.

"Hi, I'm Ashley!" she greeted as an attempt to break the ice. None of them responded.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Ashley put on her earphones and listened to her iPod instead._ Great_, she thought. _I'm stuck with robots._

She promised her father that she would try her best to keep them informed of her whereabouts all the time, even though personally, she would rather not.

She traveled with only her cell phone, laptop and a few books – items that had gotten lost as a result of her kidnapping.

She was ready to face the world again.

* * *

><p>Arriving at her dorm at the university made her feel somewhat normal again. Ashley walked down the hallway with four bodyguards behind her while the other two positioned themselves outside, and made other tenants turn heads inevitably. She knew she wasn't the most liked person in the building, but she learned to brush them off. There was nothing she could do to be liked by them as long as she had the title "the President's daughter."<p>

She stopped in front of her dorm room and excitedly knocked.

Her roommate, Sara, responded with a grunt. "One sec!"

Sara, an ordinary university student who had a scholarship, was the only one who agreed to share the room with her. And for that, she loved her dearly and they became great friends.

Opening the door, Sara gasped upon seeing the unexpected guest. "Hey you!" Her messy brown hair and the fact that she was wearing PJs indicated that she was ready to sleep, or she had already been asleep.

The two young girls hugged quickly and Ashley let herself in. As Sara faced the outside hallway, she noticed that Ashley had more bodyguards than the last time.

Sara closed the door and began interrogating Ashley. "Is it just me or your secret service guys multiplied?"

Ashley let out a sigh. "They did. There are six of them now. Six!"

Sara was bummed for her room mate/friend. "Apparently, four is not enough."

"Tell me about it," she replied, setting down her tote bag on the floor.

Sara sat at the study table, turning the chair around to face her while Ashley sat on her bed. "What happened to you? It feels like you dropped off the face of the Earth or something."

She carefully thought of her response. She wasn't allowed to tell her what really happened. She hated lying to her friend, but she decided that she would reveal the truth to her in time.

She started playing with her hair, one of her nervous habits. "Yeah, something came up."

"I kept texting and calling you after school but you never replied. I thought something had happened to you when your secret service couldn't find you. Seriously, what were you thinking?" She asked with a look of concern.

"I apologize about that. I didn't mean to make everyone worry." She would rather play the bad guy than let her know the real details of her abduction. "I um... flew to Spain to visit an ill friend. And I wasn't able to call or text back because I lost my cell phone and laptop there."

Sara's face registered a look of sympathy and shock. "Oh geez. Sorry to hear that. Are you okay though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I got them replaced today. I just hate the fact that my saved essays in my laptop are all gone. But it's okay. It's not the worst thing in the world, right?"

"Well, it could have been worse. You could have been kidnapped or something," her room mate pointed out.

She refrained from making a comment. Thankfully, her new cell phone suddenly rang. She was able to steer away from the conversation. "Give me a just a sec." She looked at her phone and it was a blocked number. She hesitantly answered it. "Hello?"

"Ashley, it's Leon. Do you have a few minutes?"

Her heart raced upon hearing his voice. She would automatically have this reaction whenever she heard his voice.

Ashley looked into Sara's eyes, beaming with excitement. Her friend, on the other hand, was baffled by the sudden change in her facial expression. And the fact that Ashley was blushing made her even more curious.

Still trying to recover from the shock of getting an unexpected phone call from him, she replied. "Uh... yeah, yeah, of course. What's up Leon? How did you get my number?" Ashley tried to contain her excitement about getting yet another call from him in a short period of time. Meanwhile, Sara could only give her an odd look. "Who's Leon?" she mouthed.

"Let's just say that my job gave me that privilege," he said as a matter of fact.

Ashley chuckled. "Right. How could I forget that?"

"You sure this is not a bad time?"

"No, not at all. I just got here at the dorm," she said, eyeing her friend, who was now sitting next to her, trying to listen to their conversation.

"I heard. So you like school that much," he commented.

"I actually do! Is that a bad thing?" She asked as she grinned.

"Of course not. I think it's beneficial for you to get back to your normal routine." He sounded more like a big brother and she felt a little sad.

Dying of curiosity, Sara begged her to put him on speaker.

Ashley mouthed "fine!" and complied. She hit the speaker button and held the phone between them.

Leon continued. "Anyway, I had been informed that you had a session with Dr. Warren. How was it?"

Sara looked confused, but she didn't say a word.

"It was... interesting," she replied, trying not to give a hint for Sara that it was a psychotherapy session. "But I do like her. I'm seeing her again next week."

"Good. Glad to hear that. I personally recommended her. She'll take good care of you."

Ashley furrowed her eyebrows. "You knew her?"

"Yeah. She's one of my good friends. She helped a lot of patients who were suffering with -" with that, Ashley turned the speaker off. She would not let her friend know that she was seeing a doctor for a possible PTSD. Sara was left baffled, raising her hand with the palm facing outward. "Aw, come on!"

"I'll tell you about it later, okay?" she whispered and winked at her friend.

"Oh, you better!" She whispered back and stepped out of the room to let Ashley have her privacy.

Bringing the phone to her ear, she sat on her bed. "Well, as long as she doesn't ask me if I had sexual attraction to my father, I think we're gonna get along just fine," she continued as soon as Sara was out of earshot.

She heard a soft chuckle on the other end. She made him laugh and for some reason, she felt proud of herself, like making him laugh was an accomplishment.

"I love your laugh. It's so cute," she commented absent-mindedly.

"Oh," he said, almost inaudible.

His reaction amused her. It was her turn to laugh. "Tongue tied, Agent Kennedy? It's okay, it's just a harmless comment. I tend to notice little things like that so bear with me."

There was a pause before he responded. "Thanks, I guess?"

Ashley smiled from ear to ear, feeling a little victorious. "I guess you're welcome."

She could hear someone in the background calling Leon's name. "Listen, I gotta run. Talk to you later."

_Already?_ She mentally complained, but she did not voice it out. "Of course. Don't worry, it's understandable. Be careful out there, wherever you are."

"I will, thanks."

"Bye. Thanks for the call. And um..." she paused, thinking of other things to say to him, like maybe asking his number, but she came up with nothing. "...um, yeah, that's it. Bye."

"Alright. Bye."

With that, she hung up. _Wow, embarrassing much?_

Falling back to her bed, she stared at the ceiling and sighed. _You're not really making it easy, Leon. I need to stop having these feelings for you, but I can't if you're calling me like this._

Meanwhile, Sara knocked on the door. "Are you done?"

"Yeah, come in!" Ashley yelled, and sat up. Sara entered their dorm with a million questions in her head.

Ashley readied herself for the barrage of questions that Sara would throw at her. "Okay. Spill. Who's Leon & why are you starry-eyed while talking to him?" She asked with interest and curiosity.

"Oh... Leon is just… someone that I met in Spain."

"You lucky girl. Spanish men are hot!"

"He's not Spanish. He's American."

Sara raised her left eyebrow and questioned her. "You went to Spain and met an American? You need to get out of your comfort zone, honey."

"He's a good guy, alright. I had fun being with him." 'Fun' may not be the best word to describe it, but having Leon there made her less afraid.

Sara's eyes suddenly widened. "OMG. Did you do it?" She asked with a such malice.

Completely baffled, Ashley shot her room mate a glare. "Do what?"

"Come on, you know what I mean." She then mouthed "sex!"

Ashley's eyes widened in shock, but she eventually laughed. "What? God, no! Sara!"

"I'm just asking!" she said, raising her hands in surrender. "So you're not hooking up with this guy?"

"Not at all!" _I don't know if that's even legal_, she thought.

Sara stood up to get a glass of water from their mini-fridge. "Well, then why are you red-faced and giggly when you were talking to him?"

She looked at Sara like she was crazy._ I was red-faced AND giggly?_ "No I wasn't!" Ashley had no idea she acted that way towards him as well.

Shutting the fridge close, she faced Ashley. "Are you kidding? You so were! You didn't notice that? You were acting all fan-girly there."

"But we're really just friends. We were just two Americans who met in a foreign country and became friends and somehow ended up getting back home together," she stated, trying to pull off a straight face. She hated lying.

"And he didn't ask you out." She said in more of a statement than a question.

"No..." _I was the one who asked him out. What was I thinking? _She mentally cringed as she recalled that moment.

Sara sighed in disappointment. "Why am I not surprised? Of course, he was intimidated by your status."

Ashley shrugged, and reluctantly agreed even though she knew better. "Maybe, I don't know. Look, not every guy I meet should be romantically interested in me. Let's be realistic here, okay?"

"Let me guess, you exchanged numbers and made a pinky promise to be friends forever?" She said sarcastically.

"No numbers were exchanged," she sighed.

"But how did he know your number?" she asked, drinking the glass of water in her hand.

Ashley had to pause._ Think, Ashley, think!_ "Apparently, he works for my father. I know, small world, right?" She asked, hoping her friend bought it. She could tell her that much.

Sara gasped. "Omigosh, that is amazing. It's meant to be!" She replied in excitement. "I mean, of all people, you met someone who works for the President. How completely random is that?"

She smiled to herself. Her meeting with Leon was anything but random. "Truth is, I am not expecting to see him again."

"What do you mean?"

"We just have different paths in life. You see, his line of work requires a lot of traveling. He's probably in China right now as we speak."

Sara nodded slowly. "Hmm. Men in that line of work are not to be trusted. He probably has a girlfriend in every city he's in."

Ashley protested. "Hey, my father travels a lot and he's never done that, as far as I know."

"Well, your dad's one of the rare ones who doesn't fool around. I'm just saying that Leon could be one of those people."

Ashley looked at her, cocking her head. "You think so?"

Sara continued nodding, "There's a possibility," she stopped and noticed that Ashley was slightly fazed. "...but you're not concerned, right? Cos you're just friends?"

"Of course I'm not," she denied, "although I won't be surprised if that were true. He seems like the kind of guy." Ashley had suspicions that Leon was a ladies' man, only he wasn't exactly admitting it.

"And even if he likes you, he probably won't pursue you. Hate to tell you this, but as the President's daughter, men are afraid to date you."

She let out a small laugh. "Afraid? No, I don't think that word is in his vocabulary."

Sara glared at her. "You just met him. How did you know that?"

"I don't know much about him but I know that he's not afraid of anything." Even if he was, Ashley didn't think dating her would be one of them.

"Well, I don't care if he's in Himalayas right now. If he really wants to see you again, he will find a way. No amount of business trips will stop him from seeing you."

"Well, it never hurts to be optimistic, right? A girl could dream." She said with a smile on her face. She was such in a good mood.

"Oh. Okay," she replied, even though she was not 100% convinced. She could sense that there was she wasn't telling her but she wanted to respect her privacy. She decided to change the subject. "Hey, by the way, completely off topic but, you do need my notes, don't you?"

That reminded her of the dreadful exam. "Yes. God yes!"

Sara walked to her study table and grabbed a handful of printed notes. "Here you go. I made a copy for you. I know you'll want them."

"Oh, you're amazing. Thanks!" She took the photocopied sheets and browsed each page. "You had this much lecture already? I was only gone for 2 days."

"A lot can happen in two days, sweetie."

"That's true." She kept browsing and felt more and more anxious. "Well, I smell an-all nighter coming."

"Good, I stacked up on Red Bull if you want them."

Ashley laughed. "I'll definitely need that." She stood up and gathered her things for class that day. "Are you sure the prof didn't move the exam date? For next week, by any chance?"

"Last time I checked, it's still scheduled tomorrow morning. Nice try, though."

Ashley moaned, and closed her eyes. "Ugh. Crap."

"Good luck!"Sara said, getting ready to slip into her bed.

"Thanks. I really need that." Ashley sat quietly and browsed through the notes. She was trying to estimate how much time it would take for her to cover everything. She was 99% sure she would need all night to study.

Suddenly, Sara spoke again before returning to her bed. "Hey Ash?"

"Hmm?" Ashley continued to browse without looking up.

"Is he cute?"

She stopped briefly and smiled. "I'd say average." She figured if he portrayed Leon that way, her friend would stop obsessing over him.

"But his voice sounds sexy! Are you sure he's not a 10?" Ashley could hear the disappointment in her friend's voice.

Ashley rolled her eyes and laughed. "Go to bed, Sara."

Sara shrugged and went to bed. "Fine."

After looking through the notes, Ashley changed into white tank top and shorts. She wanted to wear something comfortable while studying.

"Let's do this," she whispered to herself as she took out her laptop, books and highlighters.

She would try to concentrate despite the fact that he was the only thing on her mind right now. And she could sense that something really awesome was going to happen.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note: Really, you guys are awesome! Can't believe this is getting some love, but THANK YOU so much! I appreciate the reviews and everything! Thanks for taking the time to read, let alone leave reviews. :)<em>**

**_I DO apologize for the delayed update. I wish I could update sooner but I keep revising. :) Thanks for the patience. :)_**


	6. Nightmares and Daymares

Ashley jerked awake following a really bad nightmare. It was the same recurring nightmare that she had; the chanting monks, the mutated humans, the sound of the revving chainsaw... It was so vivid that she woke up crying and scared for her life. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't real. She sat straight up and scratched her eyes.

Disoriented, she looked around and took in her surroundings. It took her a few seconds to realize that she had fallen asleep on her desk while studying. Her laptop was still running, her books and notes were scattered. She checked her phone to see the time - it was a little past 5 in the morning. _Shoot_, she thought. _How long have I been asleep for?_

She threw her head back and let out a big sigh. She was overwhelmed with frustration. Frustrated with herself for falling asleep in the middle of studying. Frustrated for having the same nightmares for three nights in a row. Frustrated for not having anyone to talk to at such an ungodly hour. Her eyes fell on Sara, who was sleeping across the room. She wanted so bad to wake her up and tell her about the nightmare, but she couldn't bear disrupting her peaceful sleep. She should not suffer with her. That would be selfish.

She wouldn't call her parents either. One panicked phone call and they would send her home at once. She wouldn't like that.

Her secret service detail? Forget it. Every thing she'd say would immediately be reported to her parents. No, thanks.

With no one left to talk to, she could not have felt more alone.

Inevitably, her thoughts began to shift to Leon.

She flash backed to the time when he used to tighten his arms around her waist when she was hurt or she was close to danger and her stomach would jump. Now, she felt a gaping hole.

If she could only make him stay in her life after the nightmare. Unfortunately, it would probably take a really dangerous situation involving her to see him again.

_Stop torturing yourself, Ashley. Out of sight, out of mind. You'll forget about him in no time._

She checked her phone again. 5:12 am. She had approximately 2 hours to study. She forced herself to read again, but to no avail. Nothing made sense to her.

She closed her book and decided to stop altogether. There was no sense studying when she could not absorb anything.

_I can't do this.  
><em>

She had thought of an idea.

Instead of feeling defeated in her dorm, she dressed up in a thick white coat, skinny jeans and knee length winter boots. She wrapped a scarf around her neck and put a beanie beret hat on. She was going to take a walk to clear her head.

She carefully opened the door to not wake Sara up and tiptoed outside. Gently closing the door behind her, she almost jumped when she heard a voice.

"Good morning."

She whipped around and saw Carter right by the door. "Hey, you scared me." She said in a hushed voice.

"Sorry."

Despite her slight irritation, she was pleased to see him. She liked him the most among her bodyguards because he was easy to get along with and he was personable. He was no Leon, she thought, but at least he was not as ice cold as the others.

He must have been about Leon's height, but he had a bigger built. He had a buzz cut, and dark brown eyes. He looked about the same age as Leon too. Maybe that was also why she liked him. He was the only young agent assigned to her; the rest were old enough to be her father. Well, there were other two young agents, but they did not display any interest in interacting with her.

She started walking, with Carter following behind her. "We're moving," he said, talking to his earpiece.

"So where to?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Anywhere my boredom takes me."

"Can't sleep, huh?"

She studied the hallway and saw the other agents were spread out. She noticed that the others started following her as well. _Oh my gosh. I do not need six people to take a walk around the campus. This is ridiculous, _she complained in her head.

"No. Not recently. I'm sure you've heard."

"I've heard some things." Truth was, he had read the Kennedy report, but he chose not to discuss it.

"By the way, you weren't here yesterday."

"No, I wasn't. I replaced Paul. He is now being assigned to protect the First Lady."

She nodded. She made a right and took the stairs to the first floor. When she reached the main door, she pushed it open and the cold air greeted her. It was lightly snowing outside, but this didn't faze her. She stepped out, not really having a destination in her head. She just wanted to walk until she felt like she was ready to head back. Maybe it would wake her senses up. She noticed that two of her agents did not appreciate the cold and the snow, but she didn't care. She was not forcing them to tag along.

She started to walk along the snow covered sidewalk. She was looking down at the footprints that she left on the snow as she spoke.

"Can I ask you something, Carter?" It was soft, but it didn't escape his ears. He started to walk with her on the side to be able to hear her better.

"Sure."

"Have you by any chance seen Leon?" She figured that she might as well ask him. He would know, right?

"Leon? I just saw him yesterday."

She snapped up at him with curious eyes. "Really?" Clearly, it wasn't the answer that she anticipated. But it was good to know that they were in contact with each other. Maybe Carter could fill her in with details about him.

On the other hand, she did not want to appear desperate and overzealous.

She replied casually, trying to sound uninterested even though she felt the opposite. "I'm surprised. I would assume he's not in the same country."

"He's not only in the same country, he's in the same state."

She stopped walking and turned to him. "He's in Massachusetts?"

"The last time I checked, yes."

This got her really curious. What was he doing here? Certainly not for her, was it? That would be crazy and presumptuous.

"Do you know why he's here?"

"He met up with some people about a certain investigation. I'm afraid that is all I am allowed to say."

She shrugged and continued walking. Poker face. No interest whatsoever. "I see. I was just wondering. Well, if you see him again, tell him I said hi, would you?"

"I absolutely will. By the way, speaking of Leon, he asked me to take you to Dr. Warren right away should you display symptoms, so you don't have to worry about driving yourself."

It was cold, but she felt warm and fuzzy upon hearing that. Something about the fact that he was thinking about her too. "Well, that's really nice of him. Do you think he'd be able to stop by... one of these days?" _So much for not appearing overzealous, Ashley._

"Guess not. In fact, he's leaving for another country pretty soon."

This saddened her. She may not be able to see him again after all. "I'm gonna miss him, you know."

"What was that?"

She managed to fake a smile like it did not affect her. "Nothing. Hey, I know where I wanna go: to the coffee shop. I think we could use a hot chocolate." She glanced behind her and felt pretty bad when she noticed her ss details freezing. "Yeah, I really should buy you all a hot drink."

"You don't have to."

"Oh please, it's the least I can do after dragging you all at 5 am in the snow."

"If you insist."

If she couldn't cheer herself up, maybe she could cheer others up in her small way.

* * *

><p>She got back to her dorm at around 6 am when they finished their drinks. She could tell that her agents warmed up to her a little bit.<p>

Entering the door, she found her roommate still sleeping. They usually wake up around this time to get ready, so she took the liberty to wake her up.

"Wake up, I got you coffee."

Opening her eyes, Sara let out a little smile. "Hey." Sitting up, she stretched and glanced at the clock. "You really pulled an all-nighter."

Ashley handed her the to-go coffee and stood up. "Not really. I kind of cheated." She gathered her things and stuffed them in her bag. "Let's go. We don't wanna be late for test."

"Oh that's right." She took a quick sip of the coffee and set it down. "Thanks for the coffee, by the way. You're awesome!"

She watched her as she fumbled to the shower. She laughed and shook her head.

* * *

><p>Ashley and Sara were the first ones in their Biology class. They immediately noticed the microscopes in the front table.<p>

They chose the seats at the very top row. "It looks like it's gonna be one of those tests." Their Biology professor was known for having students come up one by one and identify the specimens under the microscope.

"Hey, I might actually pass this one. I've read about this extensively, you know, before I dozed off." Ashley bragged.

"I hate you," Sara responded, rolling her eyes.

Ashley displayed a fake surprised look. "Now, now, it's a fair game. We both read about this."

"But I don't remember a single thing I studied," she complained.

"Oh, you'll do just fine."

Moments later, students started to flock in the room. Low murmurs were heard, most of them trying to study at the last minute. The professor walked in and announced the beginning of the test. Test papers were passed around. Students started to come up to the table one by one, forming a line. Each student took turns to the microscope.

When Ashley's turn came, she confidently stepped in front of the first microscope and bent down to position her eyes. She adjusted the lens and when the lens cleared, she couldn't believe what she saw. She gasped and immediately stepped back from the equipment. The professor noticed the terrified look on her she saw clearly disturbed her.

"Are you okay, Miss Graham?" The professor asked.

She shook her head and ran outside. Students were stunned by her bizarre behavior, including Sara. Especially Sara.

She ran outside and rested her back against the wall on the side of the building. She closed her eyes, and took deep breaths. She felt hopelessness, failure, weakness. All she wanted was to get on with her normal life, but she kept having these flashbacks at any given time. It was incredibly frustrating, and she couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

She opened her eyes and looked down on her feet. She could not go back inside. She was too embarrassed to face those students again, especially her professor. How could she explain that?

All of a sudden, she sensed that one of her bodyguards stood just a foot from her. This irritated her. She obviously had shorter fuse after the events of her day. It wasn't even 10 in the morning and she was already feeling defeated.

Without looking up, she spoke without attempting to hide her irritation. "Do you mind leaving me alone for a few seconds or do I need to call my father about this?"

"You alright?"

That voice made her heart beat faster. She would recognize his voice any day. She could not mistake him for anyone else.

She slowly looked up, half excited, half scared.

In front of her was none other than Leon, with a concerned look on his face.

She studied his face for a few moments, unable to utter a word. She was simultaneously overwhelmed with joy and overwhelmed with anxiety. The look on her face was that of amazement and disbelief. It was as if a dead relative just appeared in front of her. It was surreal. He was the last person she expected to see at the moment. Maybe this was all a dream...

Concerned about not getting any response from her, he took a step forward and lightly rested his hands on either side of her shoulders. Looking directly in his eyes, he spoke with intensity. "Are you alright?" He repeated.

As if waking up from a dream, she instinctively threw herself forward into his arms, where she felt most safe. The familiar feeling of his arms around her made her feel that everything would be okay... That she was practically invincible. "Leon... I can't go back there… I can't…" she muttered, still slightly shaken.

Leon and the secret service details exchanged glances. They all clearly had one question in mind.

"Do you mind telling me what just happened?" Leon asked, gently pulling himself from her embrace.

Holding his arms for support, she spoke with a trembling voice. "I had a flashback. Those things… they look like… the ones that tried to kill us…"

"What things? Where?"

"The organisms under the microscope... they freaked me out."

Leon shook his head in worry. "You don't look right. Did you eat?"

Ashley only shook her head.

"Come on, let's grab something to eat." Leon turned to his fellow agents. "I got her. We'll be back in no time."

"No problem, Leon," Carter answered. "We'll be here."

He turned to Ashley. "Let's go. This way." Ashley was grateful that for a brief period of time, she would not be followed by six bodyguards. She mentally thanked Leon.

He walked ahead of her, leading her to a black car parked not too far from they were. That parking lot was usually only reserved for faculty members, but of course, he had special passes.

Just as he was opening the door for her, she couldn't help but notice his unusual outfit. He was not wearing his usual leather jacket and cargo pants. Instead, he had a gray sweatshirt on and black jeans, paired with sneakers. He looked like a regular person. No one would suspect what he really did for a living.

She thought it was nice to see this side of him. It made him look less intimidating.

Did he say they were going to get something to eat? Food was the last thing she wanted right now. "I'm not hungry."

"Well, you gotta eat at some point, right?" He asked rhetorically.

They drove quietly until Ashley broke the silence. She appeared to be more calm."What are you doing here, Leon?" She asked, surprised by his sudden appearance. "And why are you… dressed like that?"

"What's wrong with it?" he replied, smiling.

"It's just… a little casual for a government agent on duty, don't you think?" It was hard to believe that he was the same person who survived the most dangerous situations in the history. It was surreal how he looked like your everyday person, when in fact, he was one of the deadliest agents the government has employed.

He glanced sideways at her. "That's a valid point," he pointed out, "but I'm not on duty. At least not today."

"Then why are you here? Surely you have better things to do." Not that she was complaining. She was more than happy to see him. His timing could not be any more perfect.

"Why are you saying that? The President and I figured it'll be good for you to talk to someone who had the same experience. I told him I'd be more than happy to come see you on my day off. That's why I'm here."

Ashley scoffed. "Of course, my father sent you here. Why else would you…"

A huge truck right next to them honked and drowned Ashley's voice. "I'm sorry, what?" Leon asked.

"Nothing," she lied. "I said, I just decided that I want a milkshake."

Leon smiled in approval. "You got it."

Throughout the ride, Ashley kept glancing at Leon anxiously. It appeared that she wanted to say something. Every time she would open her mouth, shyness would overcome her and she would look away. Her uneasiness was apparent, and Leon decided to get to the bottom of it. It was making him uneasy too.

"Uh, something bothers you?"

"Nothing," she replied, fidgeting. "Okay, well, you." She bit her lip in embarrassment.

"Me?"

"I am not sure what we're doing, so if you could shed some light..."

Perplexed, he asked. "What do you think we're doing, Ashley?"

"Well, if you're not on duty, you're technically using your personal time, so this could be classified as a date, right?" she asked with a serious face. She continued babbling, "But of course, this isn't. I mean, technically, you're here as a result of that mission and this could be counted as a part of your job…" she took a deep breath and shook her head, "I don't know where I'm going with this."

She suddenly felt herself blushing. _Shut up, Ashley. Just shut up._

Leon cocked an eyebrow at her for a brief moment, and looked back on the road again. "You're over-thinking this."

She let out a big sigh and looked down at her hands. "Yeah, I know. Definitely not one of my best qualities."

"Look, if it will help ease your mind, then I can assure you that this isn't a date."

She turned to look at him. "That's what I thought. You see, I've never been on a date-date, so… it'll be weird if this is actually my first date…" she laughed nervously, and looked away._ Oh God. I suck._

Leon nodded once. "Got it. No worries."

She was grateful that Leon just shrugged it off. He knew when to drop a subject, and she appreciated that.

Moments later, he pulled up to the parking lot of a local diner, a few minutes away from the University. Since it was early in the morning, most customers were students having breakfast before they get to their classes.

He cut the engine and both of them stepped out of the car.

Leon got to the door first and opened it for her. She thanked him and walked past him.

She would have to remind herself the entire time that they were not on a date and he was strictly doing what he was ordered to do.

That included ignoring the fact that he was probably the most attractive person in the room. No, she had to put it in the back of her mind if she wanted to get better.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Oh, hello awesome people! Took me for-freaking-ever to update but... here you go. I hope you like it! :-) Not a lot of Leon-Ashley action here but I am trying to build their relationship, so it will appear kind of believable? haha<br>_

_I like the idea of a casual Leon... he just seems like the kind of guy who would prefer to wear sweatshirt and jeans on his free time. :) Like a normal person...  
><em>

_Thank you again for reading this! I love updating this, and of course, feedback is always welcome. Much, much appreciated :-)  
><em>


	7. Priority

Normally, she would not mind going to this place. After all, she frequented this diner with her friends. But today was different. She was so humiliated, and she just wanted to lock herself in a room and be left alone.

But between locking herself up, and spending time with Leon, she would choose the latter. She badly needed someone to talk to about she was going through. He was the only one who could understand. And frankly, she had been worrying about him. No one could tell her where he was or what he was doing, and that was making her anxious.

She just wished he didn't choose this place. Truthfully, she could have settled for a drive-thru fast food. But she had no energy to argue anymore.

As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the friendly hostess and led them to a table towards the back.

Leon gestured for Ashley to go first. The diner was always packed, and this morning was no exception. Most of the customers were students who were eating breakfast before going to class.

Despite Ashley's status, her presence in the diner wasn't a big deal. The university students were used to her. They got a few head turns, but those from non-students. She even saw some patrons snapped pictures of her with their phone. She could already guess the caption they'd put: "_Ashley Graham, looking rough." _Or her favorite_, "Someone get that girl a burger."_

She wanted to head back out and forget about getting food, but at the same time, the smell of fries and burger made her stomach growl. She could feel her hunger taking over.

The hostess finally led them to an empty booth at the corner. "Enjoy!" she said and walked back to her post.

Sitting across from each other, Ashley watched Leon as he looked on the menu. He certainly didn't expect the events that transpired this morning. He thought he would just catch up with Ashley for a little bit and he would share an advice or two. But as usual, things were worse than expected.

Meanwhile, oblivious to him, Ashley had been watching him. She still couldn't believe that he was actually there, right in front of her, at the exact moment when she needed him. And for the millionth time, he saved her again.

"It's so weird..." Ashley blurted out, shaking her head.

Leon looked at her with sympathy. "I know. The flashbacks are weird, and they're usually-"

"No," Ashley interrupted, "I'm talking about you being here today," she said, looking directly in his eyes. "I thought I'll never see you again."

"And that's a bad thing?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

Ashley remained serious, holding him in her gaze. "It's the worst."

Not knowing how to respond, Leon ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, I wasn't there when your symptoms-"

Ashley exhaled and shook her head, desperately trying to make Leon see her point. "It's not just because of my symptoms, Leon. How about I want to see you simply because I want to know that you're okay? How about that?" she said, slightly hurt that he thought she wanted to see him because she needed something from him.

Embarrassed by his lack of sensitivity, Leon slightly bowed his head and looked up apologetically. "I didn't mean it that way."

Ashley bit her lip, realizing that she had overreacted. "No I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me."

"It's okay, I understand what you're saying," Leon assured her with a soft smile and a nod. "I didn't know you cared that much.

She gave him a quick smile and looked at the menu even though she already knew what she was getting.

A waitress approached their table, took their orders quickly and left.

"We need to get you into the treatment program as soon as possible," he suggested as soon as the waitress left.

Ashley contemplated this for a second and asked, "I'm guessing after what happened today, I won't be allowed to go back to school, will I?"

"If that's what the therapist recommends," he replied.

She actually might be okay with taking the rest of the semester off. She didn't think she could come back to that biology class anyway. There was no way to recover from that. She was willing to bet that the news about her little situation this morning already made the national news, maybe even international news if she got lucky.

"Well, would you recommend it?" She wanted to know his opinion too.

He slightly nodded. "I would. I don't think you're quite ready for school yet."

"But I remember you telling me it'd be good for me," she said, half-joking. "You should have stopped me then."

"I thought going back to your old routine would be good. Regardless, it wasn't my call, and when did you listen to me anyway?" he asked, teasing her.

Shaking her head, she chuckled softly and avoided his gaze.

He nodded slowly. "That's what I thought," he replied, a half smile playing at the corner of his mouth,

Ashley smiled and turned serious again. "Seriously though, I have to apologize for my behavior in Spain."

Leon raised his eyebrow in surprise. "What are you talking about? There's nothing to apologize for."

Ashley sighed and bit her lip. "No, I want to apologize. We wouldn't be in half the trouble that we got into if it wasn't for my behavior. That's not how I was raised. I'm really ashamed of the way I acted there. I was rude, selfish, and childish." Every time she recalled her actions in Spain, she cringed in embarrassment. It was a miracle that Leon didn't leave her for dead with the way she acted. "You probably think I'm a spoiled little princess who doesn't know how to appreciate. And I don't blame you one bit. If I were you, I would quit my job," she chuckled, even though she was not really kidding.

The waitress came back with their drinks, and Ashley caught her smiling flirtatiously at him, which Leon didn't seem to take notice. He took a sip of the water and thought out his response. "Don't worry about it too much. You weren't as bad as you think. Everyone reacts to stress in different ways. I don't think a lot of girls your age would be able to still think quickly and function in a situation like that. I've been in this a few times in my life and believe me, you did just fine. Your parents raised you well." He wasn't sure if Ashley believed it, but he meant every word.

She was skeptical but she didn't let it show. "Leave it to you to make me feel like I didn't do anything wrong," she replied, "but thank you anyway."

"You don't believe me," he replied more as a statement than a question.

Ashley couldn't help but smile at him. She sighed and traced the rim of her glass of milkshake. "I grew up in a pedestal, Leon. All my life, I feel like people are only telling me things that I want to hear. I'm special, I'm smart, I'm great..." She shook her head, and pursed her lips. "So forgive me if I find it hard to believe you."

Leon was about to reply when his phone suddenly made beeping sounds. "Hold that thought," he said as he pulled it out of his back pocket and looked at the screen. The sudden shift in his facial expression was noticeable. He brought the phone in his ear and bowed his head a little bit.

"Hunnigan, what's up?" he spoke in a low tone.

Ashley watched him as he listened intently on the other end. His face remained serious, but calm. He could be intimidating if he wanted to, but there were times when she would forget that he was a highly skilled secret agent who underwent years of intense training. She heard that everyone in the agency looked up to him. Not to mention, her dad spoke highly of him.

And here he was, in his hoodie and jeans, looking like he belonged more to her school's football team than the CIA headquarters.

"How long do you think will it take?" Leon continued talking on the phone. "I'd rather hold off until we can be sure. Yes, I will take care of it as soon as I get back. Got it. I can't right now. He knows. Call me if anything else comes up. I'm out."

She found it amusing that no one would suspect that this college-student looking guy was actually a Raccoon city survivor. People in this diner would probably go nuts when they found out.

With that he clicked it off and put it back in his back pocket. His demeanor quickly shifted from serious to casual, as if nothing happened. "What were you saying?" He asked her. He looked more like a fellow student again than a secret service agent.

"Never mind. Is everything okay?" She asked in concern.

"Sure, why do you ask?" he replied, taking a sip of water.

She distrusted the calmness in his voice. She couldn't tell whether he was lying to not make her worry or he was really telling the truth.

She sighed and remained serious. "Look, I don't want to pull you away from whatever it is that you need to do. I'll be okay," she said. As much as she wanted him to stay, she wouldn't want to be the cause of delay of his investigation or whatever assignment he had.

"I don't need to do anything right now except make sure that you're okay. You're my priority," he said in a very agent-esque tone.

And with that, her heart beat faster. There was nothing romantic about it, but it gave her butterflies. He definitely had a way of making a girl feel that she was special. She didn't like the way she was falling for this again. She needed to remind herself that he was here as per her father's request.

"Well, I just don't want to take your time away from Hunnigan," she said in an attempt to distract herself from her own thoughts. She immediately realized that it was a dumb thing to say..

Leon, obviously surprised, let out a scoff. "What?"

She suddenly felt like she was out of place. "Um, I just assumed. I mean, you asked for her number."

"How did you know about that?" He did not sound angry, but he did sound confused.

She instantly regretted bringing it up. "I heard you talking to her over the phone when we got to the mainland." _That was right after you rejected my invitation,_ she wanted to add.

Leon slightly lowered his head. "Oh. You heard that." He was embarrassed, and Ashley took notice of it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she was lowering her head. Now she was embarrassed as well.

"It's okay, don't worry." He gave her a quick smile, and it seemed like he wanted to drop the subject. This just made her more curious.

"Well, did she give you her number?" she asked.

He obviously did not expect that she would inquire further, so he tried to deflect it. "Why do you want to know that?"

"Nothing, really. I just want to know." She felt that she wasn't out of place in asking. It was an innocent question. It wasn't like he was going to lose his job if he ever started dating the DSO officer. Resting her chin on her right hand, she continued, "come on, humor me."

He ran out of excuses to not tell her, so he finally complied. Hell, it couldn't hurt to tell her that. "If I tell you she did, will you drop the whole thing?"

Her face lit up. "No way! Congratulations, I'm so proud of you." She said in excitement even though a part of her died. She would not stand a chance against Hunnigan. She was everything she was not. As much as it pained her, she had to admit that she was a better match for him. He deserved to be happy after all that he had been through.

When Leon didn't provide any more information, she pressed another question. "So where are you going to take her?"

He narrowed his eyes, "Take her?"

"You know, on a date?"

Leon slightly chuckled. "Date? I don't know about that." He honestly wasn't sure if he would actually ask her out. He asked for her number, but it wasn't like he expected her to actually give it. It was more like a spur-of-the-moment thing. After saving Ashley, he felt empowered, and that was where he gathered the courage to do that. If it was under any circumstances, he would not be too straight forward about it.

Upon hearing this, Ashley's eyes widened in horror. "You're kidding, right?"

Leon only answered with a shrug.

"Leon, she gave you her number. That means she likes you. What are you waiting for?" She wasn't sure why she was helping him, when should be happy that Leon hadn't made his move.

He only shook his head, scrambling for an answer. He wasn't sure why either. "Uh, I don't know, I couldn't find time?" he replied, trying to change the subject. "Look, maybe we should just focus on what happened with you today."

"You couldn't find time?" she asked, completely ignoring his last sentence. "You know, when you really like someone, you don't find time. _You_ make time," she lectured.

Leon shook his head and chuckled. "That's deep."

Ashley rolled her eyes at him. "Fine. What about Miss red dress? She's really pretty. That's the one you should ask out."

Leon did not expect this conversation to happen, but he was not mad. He would rather not talk about it at the time, especially when there were more important things to talk about, like Ashley's episode this morning. "Should we really talk about this right now?"

"Yes, yes we should. You haven't told me who she is and why she's in love with you."

"How did you even come to that conclusion?" he was rather curious as to how Ashley could pick that up. If she only knew how Ada almost killed them both.

Ashley shot him an "are-you-kidding" look. "First of all, she left lipstick marks on all of her notes for you. Obviously, she is flirting. Second of all, she helped us escape that lab. Come on, it's obvious. That girl has a thing for you."

"Yep, she does, alright," he replied sarcastically. "Because nothing screams 'love' than a teddy bear key chain thrown at you."

She was actually getting pissed and dissatisfied with the way he responded. "I'm just trying to help you score a date, but you're not helping me out. What am I gonna-" She stopped midsentence when she noticed a throng of reporters outside. _What are they doing here?_ "Leon, look," she said, pointing outside.

Leon looked over his shoulder and displayed a look of confusion. "What the…"

As if on cue, the waitress finally came back with food, and explained the situation. "It looks like they're here for you, Ashley. You can use the back door, I'll show you when you're ready."

"How did they know I'm here?" Ashley exclaimed.

Leon was obviously displeased with the situation. "It doesn't matter; they're not supposed to be here."

"Let's just wait here until they leave." She had a pretty good idea of what they wanted to know, and she certainly did not want to deal with them. Not today.

Leon did not waste time. He stood abruptly, jarring the table, nearly topping off the water. "No, we gotta go."

When Ashley hesitated, Leon extended his hand to her. "It's okay, I got you," he assured her.

Placing her hand on his, she instantly trusted him. She nodded once and followed his lead. He turned to the waitress, and asked. "Where's the back door?"

"This way," she walked ahead of them and led them to the kitchen. The kitchen staff looked at them in confusion as they walked past them. When they reached the door, the waitress pushed it open for them. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Leon dug something from his pocket and handed her money. "Keep the change."

The waitress smiled and raised her palm. "It's in the house."

Leon shook his head in disapproval. "I insist. Sorry for your troubles." The waitress hesitantly accepted it and thanked him.

Leon smiled back and headed out. However, Ashley tried to ignore this blatant flirtation between the two. She had bigger worries at that moment.

Little did they know, there were reporters waiting for them by the back door as well. As soon as they spotted Ashley, they flocked to her like vultures. They were surrounded cameras and microphones in an instant.

Reporters threw questions at her that she tried to shut out. Something about her father's stance on bio-terrorism and a rumor about her getting kidnapped by the terrorists. When a few of them got too close for comfort, Leon instinctively put his arms around Ashley, and shoved them out of the way. "You need to back off," he said in a low, but threatening tone.

They continued walking past the reporters towards their car. He quickly opened the passenger seat for her and once he got inside the car, he sped away.

"Are you alright?" he asked, glancing briefly at her.

Ashley turned to face him with a look of disappointment. "No. I didn't get to eat my burger."

_Of all the things to worry about._ "Oh, uh, we'll go somewhere else." he replied, looking straight ahead. He was disturbed by the fact that they knew something about Ashley's abduction. How could they know that?

After that, they drove silently. Both were lost in their own thoughts. He couldn't help but wonder how the reporters knew anything about Ashley's kidnapping. On the other hand, she was already feeling her eyelids getting heavy. It was hard to stay up when she only had a couple of hours of sleep the night before.

When they were getting close to the dorm, Leon finally spoke. " I almost forgot your burger. Where do you want to go?"

When she did not answer for a few seconds, he glanced at her. Ashley had dozed off, leaning her head against the seat, clutching her bag for her dear life.

He pulled over on the side of the road and dialed his phone. "Hey it's Leon. She's still with me."

Carter spoke on the other end. "There are reporters in here waiting for her. You think you can keep her at a distance until they leave?"

He wasn't sure where to take her but he definitely wouldn't let Ashley go through that again. "Yes, I can." With that, he clicked the phone off.

He rested his head against the back of the seat and glanced sideways. He didn't have the heart to wake her up. She was peaceful and she looked very tired.

Suddenly, he noticed something he did not expect. He thought she was pretty - something he had not noticed when he was rescuing her. How could he think of such thing when they were on the verge of death 99% of the time?

He immediately looked straight ahead again. _What the hell, Leon? That is messed up._

Back in Spain, there were times when he wasn't sure if they could actually survive. She was helpless and weak; Hell, she couldn't climb down the ladder to save her life, but there was one thing she could do that kept him going: she genuinely cared. In a place where 99% of the population wanted you dead, you would take everything you can, even a simple question like "are you okay?" meant so much.

His thoughts were interrupted when his phone rang. He pushed a button and brought it to his ear. "Carter, what's up?"

"Leon, it's clear. The media's gone. She can return now without any problems."

"Good, we're moving." Leon clicked the phone off and started the engine.

He decided to stop at a drive thru to get her burger and proceeded to head over to the dorm to drop her off.

Shortly after, they were right in front of the dorm. As soon as Leon cut the engine, Ashley slowly opened her eyes. She blinked twice and sat up straight. "Sorry, I fell asleep. Omigosh, how embarrassing," she mumbled as she scratched her eyes.

"That's okay. It looked like you badly needed that."

Nodding, she smiled. "Yeah, I did." Ashley glanced at her wristwatch. It was only past 11 in the morning. It was going to be a long day. She was contemplating whether she would take her other remaining tests.

As if he had read her mind, Leon chimed in. "I think it's best if you take the rest of the day off."

Ashley looked at at him for the first time since she woke up. "I think you're right."

"Get some sleep," he advised.

She nodded, "Yes sir."

She was a little disappointed that their meeting was cut short, thanks to stupid reporters, but at the same time, he was right. She needed some sleep.

He reached in the back seat and grabbed the paper bag with the burger. "Here you go," he said, handing it over to her. "Sorry it's not the best quality, but it doesn't hurt to eat fast food once in a while."

She took the bag from him, smiling. "Are you kidding? I love fast food. Thanks for remembering."

"No problem."

She bit her lip, and unlocked her seat belt. "Thanks for today. It means so much to me that you took time out of your busy day to see me."

"You're welcome," he replied. After a few beats of silence, Leon turned to her and spoke. "I'm glad to see you."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Me too."

Ashley's heart was pounding as they sat silently in the car. She wanted to ask if she would see him again, but she didn't have the courage. Instead, she stepped out of the car and walked towards the building with a huge grin on her face. She was so happy, she had forgotten the terrible morning that she had.

_He's glad to see me! _

Shoving her hands in her coat pockets, she walked towards the building without looking back.

Before Leon could stop himself, he called out her name. She stopped and waited to hear what he had to say.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

Ashley furrowed her eyebrows and turned around to face him. "Excuse me?" She wasn't sure if she heard him right.

Leon parked the car so that the driver's side was facing Ashley. "Just answer the question," he said in an authoritative tone, which baffled her.

Ashley scoffed. "Geez, okay. Well, I'll be in school all day. If you want specifics, I start at 8 and I get out of my last class at 5. After that, I'll be in the library until 7, maybe 8 pm, depending on how much I get done."

Ashley waited for his response, but he did not say anything. Instead, he started the engine and slowly pulled out of the parking space, getting ready to leave.

She felt a mixture of confusion and irritation. _Okay. Whatever. _She shook her head and continued walking towards the house.

After contemplating for a little bit, Leon looked up. "9 works."

After that, he sped away. Ashley's jaw dropped upon hearing this. By the time she turned around to ask questions, he already turned around the corner.

"Huh?"

She had no clue what he meant. _9 works what?_ She just noticed that her secret service detail were watching the entire time. She gave them a quick smile as a way to acknowledge them.

Shaking her head, she entered the entrance and made her way to her dorm, oblivious to the fact that her best friend/room mate was waiting anxiously for her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: Hi everyone! I am so sorry, this update took forever (as usual). I had the busiest past few months, but I never stop thinking of ideas for this story! <strong>_

_**THANK YOU SO FREAAAKING much for reviewing! That is amazing to me, that you guys take the time to read and leave reviews. You are amazing. Thank you, it makes my day! **_

_**I will try to update right away, cos you guys are awesome :-)**_

_**And PLEASE, if you have fics that you'd like me to check out, let me know!**_

_**Please allow me to reply to your reviews:**_

_**Jack force 17: Hey thank you so much! :)**_

_**Addi Uchiha: Omigosh, thank you! That's so incredibly nice! :)**_

_**borismortys: Aww thank you, I appreciate that. I just want to make it closer to reality as possible. I am actually doing a little bit of research on PTSD, so hopefully I can get it right. :)**_

_**NocturneKnight: Hi! Thank you for your honesty, I really appreciate that. :) Yes, you're absolutely right, I am building their relationship because I don't want to rush it... Like you said, it takes time. Thank you for adding it to your alerts, that already means a lot to me :)**_

_**PerfectDreamer: Hello! Thank you so much, that's really nice! Thanks for the encouragement, I'm glad you appreciate the Leon/Ashley moments and my pacing :)**_

**_Antrxx: Aww Thank you, I appreciate that! :)_**

**_Sammie-Paige224: Yay! Thank you! I will def continue :)_**

**_EmD23: Hello, thank you for leaving a review! I appreciate that! Yes, I am including other characters (coughClairecough). I feel like she is an essential part of Leon's world. With Chris, maybe I can manage to include him here, we'll see. But thank you for your suggestion! :)_**

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	8. Concerned

What a strange thing to say... she thought.

She began to notice her secret service details trailing behind at the corner of her eyes. She remained quiet as she made her way towards her dorm, looking down at the ground. Oblivious to the attention of the students in the hallway, she ruminated about how much information had already gone out.

"Carter, do my parents know about this already?" Ashley asked in hushed tone.

"They are informed. I believe Bridgit is already in contact with your professor as we speak."

"For what?"

"I heard it has to do with confidentiality and excusing you from your exams today."

She cringed at the idea that she was using her status to get excused from the exams. She didn't think it was fair for other students who studied hard, but then again, none of them got kidnapped by a crazy cult. She was able to convince herself that she was doing the right thing.

Upon reaching her room, Ashley fished her key out of her coat pocket, inserted it into the lock in the doorknob, and turned it to the right. Opening the door, she was surprised to see her room mate/friend inside, waiting for her. She was expecting her to still be taking the exam.

Closing the door quietly, Ashley took off her coat and hung it by the coat stand. Without any warning, Sara got up and walked over to Ashley to give her a hug. She pitied her friend. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Ashley was going through something.

She hugged back, and they remained that way for a few seconds. When they finally broke away from each other, Sara asked her in concern. "Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, Ashley gently took Sara's hand and led her towards the bed, where they sat facing each other. "There's something I need to tell you," Ashley reluctantly announced. She looked into her straight eyes."You have to promise that you won't tell a single soul," she demanded.

Sara began to be wildly curious, but she kept her calm demeanor. She had a hunch that it had something to do with Ashley's little situation that morning.

"I won't tell anybody, I promise."

Ashley took a deep breath, trying to find a way to tell her story. She couldn't bear lying to her best friend anymore.

"Remember I told you I visited Spain?" Sara nodded. "I didn't really visit anyone," she paused momentarily and continued. "I was kidnapped."

Sara's eyes widened in shock. She had a hard time believing what she had just heard. "What do you mean you _were _kidnapped?"

Sighing, Ashley tried to explain. "I know this is weird, but I was taken away just last week. I don't remember much of the details, but I remember waking up in this small, dark and cold room in some abandoned church. I found out I was kidnapped by a cult who wanted to rule this country, and eventually the world. And I witnessed some really, really messed up things that no one should ever witness..." She tried to shake off the memory in her head, refusing to elaborate further. She wouldn't want her friend to be scarred for life like she had. "I'm not going to go into details, but trust me, it's nothing like you see in the movies. I still have nightmares about it to this day. I've been having random flashbacks, like what happened this morning. The therapist believes that I display symptoms of PTSD."

Devastated by Ashley confession, Sara could only shake her head. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. My dad is working hard to keep it all under wraps. If this gets out, the implication is unimaginable," she explained. "Trust me, I didn't want to keep it from you."

Sara quickly got over it and understood the situation. "Don't worry about it, Ash. Right now, I'm just glad you made it home safe." Sara looked at her with pity and hugged her. "I'm sorry this happened to you. I don't know what to say."

Hugging her back, she replied. "I can't believe I got out of it alive." Ashley smiled meaningfully. "I have Leon to thank for that. He was the one who rescued me."

Pulling away, Sara looked at her face. Upon recognizing the name, she raised her eyebrow. "_Your _Leon? The sexy voice from last night?"

Somehow, the way her friend referred to him as "her" Leon made her blush. "That's the one."

"So Mr. Sexy Voice is a hero too. I think I just fell in love," Sara gushed.

Ashley rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I think you need to get going before you miss the tests."

"Wait, you're not going?"

"No. I think it's best if I stay in. I can't imagine going out there right now. They probably think I've lost it."

Sara pursed her lips, and replied. "If it makes you feel any better, they all thought you were just having a test anxiety."

Relief washed all over her face. "I guess that's better than 'she must have gone crazy.'"

"Can't argue with that." Turning the door knob, she glanced at her for the last time. "Will I see you tonight at the party?"

Ashley furrowed her eyebrows. "What party?"

"Today's Eric's birthday, remember?" Eric was Sara's boyfriend, whom they both met in English class. She was invited before the same day she got kidnapped. "Oh, that's right. What time is it going to be?"

"It starts at 7."

"Until?"

Sara shrugged and smiled playfully. "Who knows?"

Ashley contemplated for a moment and made a decision. She nodded. "Okay. I'll meet you there."

"Sweet! Text me when you're on your way!"

"I will!" Ashley waved, and Sara left.

As soon as Sara left, she changed into comfy clothes – a long sleeve white cashmere top and pajama bottom. She definitely could use some more sleep. Maybe Leon was right - going back to school was too soon for her.

Sitting on her bed, she took a bite of the burger and shifted her gaze to the window. She watched the students go about their lives; everyone had one worry in their minds - to pass the tests.

She could have been one of them if she hadn't had that situation this morning.

But at the same time, she was glad she had. Something good came out of it – she got to spend time with Leon. Even though it was brief, their reunion made her day.

She realized that she finished half of the burger, and decided that she was done. She pushed it down with a soda and brushed her teeth. She slipped under the covers and put her iPod on. She was going to take a nap as she was instructed to do.

What happened this morning was a lot to take in. A little bit of rest and temporary peace was exactly what she needed.

When she woke up around 4 in the afternoon, she immediately searched for her phone to check if she had any missed calls. She instantly panicked when it wasn't right next to her. She also searched her bag, coat pockets, & underneath the bed, but it was nowhere to be found.

She let out a big sigh._ Great. Just great. _

She jumped when she heard a knock on the door. Opening the door, she was surprised to find her therapist standing in front of her. "Hi Ashley!," her young therapist greeted. When she first met the therapist, she didn't give much thought to the doctor's appearance. But now that she was paying attention, she noticed that she could not have been older than 35. She had a long brown hair with soft curls that framed her pretty face. Wearing a white shirt underneath a black blazer paired with slacks, she looked intimidatingly professional.

The attractive doctor reminded her of Hunnigan. _Leon's type,_ she thought. _Maybe that's why he recommended her. _

"Doctor Warren, please come in." Opening the door wider, Ashley wondered who called the doctor for her.

When the doctor pulled up a chair, she motioned for Ashley to sit down. Ashley pulled up another chair, facing her.

"How are you today?" The doctor asked cheerfully as she sat down.

"I'm better, thank you."

"So, first things first," the doctor said as she pulled out a notepad and a pen, "have you experienced any symptoms recently?"

This had taken her aback. _The doctor didn't know anything about her situation this morning?_

"I had a panic attack this morning. That's what you're here for, right?"

Obviously surprised, the doctor raised her eyebrows and displayed a look of genuine concern. "No, I am not aware of that. I'm here because we set up an appointment last week and agreed to meet today, remember?"

After contemplating for a moment, Ashley remembered making an appointment with her but she had completely forgotten about the exact day. "It must have slipped my mind. I was way too pre-occupied with my upcoming tests. I apologize."

"That's fine. So tell me more about your panic attack." She had the doctor's full attention.

Ashley narrated the story from the time she entered the room up until the end of her encounter with Leon.

After asking a few follow up questions, she took down notes and appeared to be contemplating something. Finally, she advised her to take the rest of the semester off, just like what Leon had said.

Naturally, Ashley was not happy about it. "Look," she replied, trying to reason with her, "there's only a few weeks of school left. I can't just throw away all the work that I have done."

"You can always come back when you're ready. From what I gather, this is all too soon for you. You have just experienced an extremely traumatic experience. You need at least a couple of months to recover."

"But that would make me a college dropout. What kind of a President has a college dropout for a daughter? His opponents are going to have a field day with that, for sure."

"That's your PR's problem. Your only concern is to get better, do you understand that, Ashley?"

She couldn't argue with her. The doctor was right. She literally had only a week of rest before she decided to continue going to school. Her flashbacks were still vivid, as if it had happened yesterday.

But being in school made her happy. She truly believed that she would get worse if she wasn't doing anything, besides talking to the therapist and making public appearances for her parents.

"I'll think about it."

The therapist smiled at her, relived that she was at least considering it. "That's a good start."

Ashley narrowed her eyes at the doctor and slightly cocked her head on one side. "Let me guess. Leon suggested that to you?"

Dr. Warren glanced up briefly and went back to scribbling notes. "I really don't discuss sessions with Agent Kennedy. It is a violation of confidentiality. What made you ask?"

"Oh. He also advised me to take the semester off, just like you said."

She nodded briefly. "He knows what he's talking about. He's been there." She commented. "I'm glad you are in touch with Agent Kennedy. He could give you advise on how to cope with your symptoms. Are you comfortable opening up to him?"

Ashley smiled inwardly. "Yes doctor, I am very comfortable with Agent Kennedy. I feel a lot calmer whenever he's around. Weird huh?" Glancing up, she smiled shyly.

"It's natural. When we experience traumatic experiences, we tend to have a special bond with the person who experiences it with us."

Ashley nodded._ I wonder if he felt that too,_ she thought.

"Well, let's this wrap this up. Is there anything else that you'd like to discuss with me?"

Ashley shook her head. "I think I'm good for now. Thank you for coming."

"Anytime, sweetie. Don't hesitate to call me when you are experiencing the symptoms, okay?"

"I will."

With that she stood up and smiled. "Take care."

When the doctor left, she decided to get ready for the party. She wore a long sleeved white dress that stopped above the knee and a pink trench coat over it. Putting her beanie hat on, she placed her key in her coat pocket and took one last look in the mirror. Since she was going to a party where alcohol was involved, she knew that her bodyguards would tell on her.

She decided that she was going to sneak out.

She had no solid plan, so she decided to run towards in the hallway and hid in a dark corner. She could hear her bodyguards scrambling to go after her. She had no idea how she did it, but she was exhilarated. Luckily, she found a door not too far from her that led outside.

As soon as she was able to go outside, she tip toed around the side of the building. She knew she was going to be in big trouble, but she was excited at the same time. Her heart was still pumping loudly when she heard a voice.

"Ashley?"

Like a deer in headlights, she snapped up in shock. Leon was looking down at her with a look of confusion.

He walked closer to her. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she answered, visibly guilty.

He gave her a suspicious look. "You're not trying to sneak out, are you?"

"Of course not!" She lied through her teeth, but she knew she couldn't fool him.

"Yeah? Where are they?" He asked, referring to her security.

Sighing, Ashley admitted defeat. Rolling her eyes, she rested her back against the wall. "Fine. You caught me."

Shaking his head, Leon stood in front of her. "Ashley, you can't be sneaking out like this. Your father has a reason why he wants you to be escorted all the time. You are an easy target."

She felt like a child being scolded. "I just don't want to draw more attention to myself than I already do. I thought I didn't need to be escorted to a house party."

"It doesn't matter where you go, you have to be protected. You know how crucial this is, right?"

Ashley bit her lower lip in embarrassment. "Did you just come here to scold me?"

"Actually, I want to return this to you," he said, handing over her cell phone. "You dropped it in the car."

She displayed a look of shock and relief on her face. "Oh my God, I thought I lost it!" She looked up to him and gave him a quick smile. "Thanks." Turning her back on him, she headed back to the dorm, humiliated that she got caught.

"Where are you going?" Leon called.

She turned around and replied. "Back to my dorm, why? You don't trust me?"

"I thought you wanted to go to a party or something?"

Ashley was taken aback. _Is he trying to be funny?_ "Not with a freaking motorcade, I'm not."

Leon paused for a few seconds before speaking again. "Do you want a ride to the party?" He asked, nodding towards his car. When Ashley appeared skeptical, Leon continued. "Don't worry, no motorcade. Just me."

A smile slowly formed across her lips. "Are you serious?"

"Might as well take you there myself than catch you sneaking out again."

Tilting her head sideways, she asked. "But why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why are you doing this?"

Instead of answering, Leon just scoffed and started walking. "Come with me," he said, walking ahead of her. _  
><em>

Ashley followed him, and mentally thanked her lucky stars. "Leon, I really appreciate this. I owe you big time."

Leon slowed his pace down to walk with Ashley. "I've been a college student myself. It doesn't hurt to have fun once in a while."

Glancing sideways at him, Ashley smiled at him. "You know what Kennedy, you're actually pretty cool when you're not bossing me around."

Opening the car door for her, Leon called Ashley's bodyguards to inform that she was with him. "No, she wasn't trying to sneak out. I told her to meet me in the parking lot tonight, didn't she tell you? Ah, she probably just forgot about it. Alright, thanks." He hung up casually, while Ashley's jaw dropped.

When Leon sat on the driver's seat, Ashley couldn't hide the look of surprise on her face. She totally did not expect him to cover up for her. "You liar!" she replied in disbelief and amazement.

Starting the engine, Leon replied. "Well, I guess now we're even."

She had no idea why he was lying for her, but she loved that she and Leon shared secrets.

Pulling out her phone, Ashley texted Sara to let her know that she was on her way.

"So," Leon spoke, "what kind of a party is it?"

"It's a birthday party," she replied without taking her eyes off of her phone.

"Yeah? Whose birthday?"

"Eric," she replied, absent-mindedly.

Giving her a quick glance, Leon asked again. "Your boyfriend?"

Scoffing, Ashley shook her head without taking her eyes off of her phone. "What are you, TMZ?" she replied humorously and continued texting. Leon dropped the subject and just continued driving in silence.

After a few moments of silence, Ashley spoke softly. "I don't have a boyfriend." For some reason, she felt the strong urge to clarify that. _And I will probably never have one because no one will ever measure up to you, thank you very much.  
><em>

To her dismay, Leon did not make a comment about it. Instead, he asked a completely different topic. "What's the address?"

"I don't know the address, but I can tell you how to get there. Just go straight this way and you're making a right on the next stoplight."

"Copy that."

Noticing Leon's outfit for the first time, she couldn't help but stare. Ashley noticed that he had changed into a black hooded winter coat on top of a green plaid shirt.

Feeling her eyes on him, he quickly glanced sideways. "What is it?"

Ashley quickly diverted her attention on the road. "Oh, nothing. Just noticing how handsome you look," she replied casually.

Shaking his head, Leon just laughed. "Seems like your hallucinations are getting out of hand."

"Oh, whatever!" she replied, chuckling. "So what's with the outfit? Going on a hot date after dropping me off?"

Half-smiling, he replied. "No, not today. I've got work to do."

"Work, work, work," Ashley injected. "This is why you're single. You don't make time."

Adjusting the heater of the car, Leon replied in amusement. "Are we really discussing this again?"

"Sure, we are! We need to fix this no-girlfriend situation. You deserve to be happy, Leon. You just need to put yourself out there."

Leon couldn't help but look at Ashley in curiosity. Why was she so concerned about his personal happiness?

He admitted that he wasn't exactly great at separating work and personal life, but he had set up boundaries when it came to his subjects.

"Thanks Ashley, that's sweet, but I'm happy."

Crossing her arms across her chest, Ashley turned to face Leon. "Really? Okay, what makes you happy, Agent Kennedy?" She challenged him.

Leon glanced at her quickly and looked forward. He appeared to be taken aback by her question. "I love my job."

_Obviously_. "What else?"

Leon blinked. "My Labrador, Monday football, Taco Bell-"

"Okay, okay," Ashley said, cutting him off. "…makes sense but… don't you wish you could share your success with a girlfriend or something?" She asked, staring intently at him.

"Sure. Let me reactivate my match. com profile. Hope I still remember my password." Leon replied, making a right turn.

Looking up, her eyes lit up, as if she had just thought of a brilliant idea. "That's it! We need to find you a girl online!"

_This is just getting worse_, Leon thought. "Ashley, I was just kidding. I'll be fine. It's just not my priority right now."

"Oh please. You are so crushing on Hunnigan. You obviously prioritized getting her number at the time."

Shaking his head in amusement, he asked, "you're not gonna let it go, are you?"

"Nope, sir, not a chance!"

She whipped out her phone and took a picture of Leon. She muttered, "perfect."

Baffled by her sudden action, he asked, "what are you doing?"

"Relax, it's just a souvenir." Staring at the picture, Ashley gasped. "Gosh Leon, you are such a photogenic! Wait, please make a left here, and slow down. The house is right around the corner, you can't miss it."

And they were right; they could hear the loud booming music coming from a fancy suburban house from a mile away. Leon slowed down and parked across the street.

Ashley started to unbuckle her seat belt and open the door. Before stepping out, she turned to Leon and hesitantly asked. "Are you coming?"

Leon shook his head. "Just don't make me regret taking you here, deal?"

"Come on, have a little faith!" Ashley replied cheerfully and stepped out of the car. Before walking away, she leaned against the passenger window. "I won't be long. Promise."

With that, she walked towards the house and made a phone call. Seconds later, a young female opened the door and let her in.

In the meantime, Leon leaned back, resting his head against the tough leather of the car seat. Since they got back from Spain, he hadn't had a decent rest. He was consumed by finding out what happened to Ada and the plaga sample that she stole. He couldn't rest until he got to the bottom of it. Once the sample ended up in the wrong hands, the horror would be unimaginable. He was hoping that he could stop it before it happened.

_Ada… what are you going to do with that Plaga? _He ruminated as he experienced all kinds of emotions. It was frustrating, more than anything. Frustrated that Ada did not give him any clear answers. Frustrated that he let the Plaga sample slip through his hands.

He wanted to believe that Ada wouldn't do such thing, but at this point, he wouldn't put it past her.

A good half an hour had passed, and two young females stepped outside. It appeared that Ashley was being half-carried by another young female. He assumed it was her friend.

Not wasting any time, Leon stepped out of the car and rushed towards them "Ashley?"

Ashley appeared to be half-awake. She must have taken something. He thought of the worse. Pulling Ashley into his arms, he began questioning the other young brunette. "What happened?"

Panicked, Sara tried to explain. "She… she had eaten the brownies. Lots of them."

Trying to move away, Ashley managed to speak. "I-I need to throw up." Leon quickly led her to the bushy side of the street where she threw up, with Sara following them.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Leon asked, "What brownies?"

"The brownies… pot brownies!" Sara replied with regret and apology written on her face. "She thought they were just ordinary brownies, so she took bite after bite. And then she threw up."

_Shit,_ Leon muttered. "I'll take it from here. Thanks."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Sara asked the handsome stranger carrying her best friend. He couldn't have been from the secret service. He didn't look the part.

"H-he's Leon, Sara," Ashley replied weakly. "Leon, this is Sara, my room mate."

Sara looked from Ashley to Leon and she couldn't hide her amazement. _So this is Leon, huh?_ Now she understood why Ashley was always giddy when she talked about him.

When she recovered from her shock, she let out a nervous laugh. "Wow, I didn't expect you to be so young." She extended her hand for a hand shake. "It's nice to meet you, Leon. I heard great things about you!" Ashley slightly elbowed Sara, and the latter immediately got the message.

"Pleasure to meet you Sara." he said, shaking her hand. "I'm just gonna take it from here. Thank you for looking after her."

"Don't mention it. I hope she feels better soon."

"I hope so too."

Sara made her way back to the house, occasionally looking back.

Leon put Ashley in the passenger seat and drove away.

Despite the strange sensation, Ashley managed to let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry Leon," she said without any warning. "You poor thing," she added, although it was almost inaudible. She had no idea how much trouble he had gone through in the past few days because of her, but this was probably the last thing he needed right now.

"Ashley, don't talk, just sit still."

"How many times have I unnecessarily wasted your time because of my stupidity?" she continued, ignoring his request. "I should have stayed at home today. What was I thinking?"

Leon quickly glanced at her. She definitely looked worse for wear. "Don't sweat it. I have done worse things when I was your age, so I'm not one to judge."

She chuckled softly. "Ha! Really? Do tell!"

"How about I'll tell you about it some other time, deal?"

"You got it." With that, Ashley closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Instead of going back to Ashley's dorm, Leon made a detour. He could only think of a place to take her. He dialed his phone and immediately, a familiar voice of a woman answered. "Leon, what's up?"

"Are you home right now?"

"Well, yeah, why?"

"Perfect. Be right there in 10 minutes."

He wasn't sure how his friend was going to react but he wasn't too concerned about that. The only thing that mattered at the time was to get Ashley help without drawing too much attention.

Shortly after, he found himself standing in the front door of an apartment complex while carrying Ashley in his arms.

He buzzed once and the door opened.

"Hi. Can we come in?"

Claire Redfield looked at her friend with a mixture of surprise and confusion all over her face.

Instinctively, she opened the door wider and let them in. Leon went straight inside, and stopped. "Where's your bedroom?"

Even though she had a million questions in her mind, she answered him anyway. "To your right."

"Thanks."

Leon proceeded to his right towards Claire's bedroom and gently put Ashley down on the bed. She fell asleep sometime during the trip with no idea about what was going on or where she was at.

Claire stood by door and crossed her arms. "Leon, you're my friend but you can't just dump your drunk girlfriend in my apartment."

Leon shook his head and scoffed. "She's not my girlfriend. Why don't you take a closer look? Maybe you'd recognize her."

Looking at him suspiciously, Claire obeyed and took a few steps closer to the girl in question.

When she finally saw her, a look of disbelief registered on her face. "Is that…?" She looked at Leon and looked back at the young woman sleeping on her bed, "…Graham's daughter?"

"The one and only."

She looked closer again and noticed that she was totally knocked out. "Is she okay?"

Leon nodded his head toward the living room. "I'll explain everything."

He shut the door quietly and followed Claire to the living room.

She stood and crossed her arms, waiting for his explanation.

"Trust me, this is not what it looks like."

Claire raised his palms and shook her head. "I'm not saying anything."

Leon explained the whole rescue mission that he recently accomplished in Spain. He also explained the PTSD symptoms that Ashley displayed, including the incident this morning and avoiding the media.. and eventually the ingestion of spiked brownies.

Claire was not able to speak immediately. She absorbed everything he said. When she finally recovered, she replied, "Poor thing. Do her parents know where she is?"

"No..." This reply shocked Claire, but he continued right away, "…but it's not a big deal. The President trusts me with her. He knows she's with me."

"What are you doing here in Boston anyway?"

"We're trying to get a fix on Ada's location, and a reliable source told me that someone in here had been in contact with her recently."

"Are you saying she's here?"

"Not sure. She could be anywhere right now. Multiple sources had confirmed that she was headed to Europe. I think that's where I'm going."

"Wow. This is getting intense."

"Tell me about it." Leon replied. "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"When I leave, if you could just…" he paused and glanced at the room where Ashley was sleeping, "look after her."

"President's order or a personal request?"

Unable to respond, Leon walked to the fridge and got a glass of water. "She's been through a lot. I want to help her get better."

When Claire didn't seem to be convinced with his explanation, he added, "She's the daughter of my boss. I would never do that."

Claire rolled her eyes at him. "You don't have to get all defensive over there, Kennedy. Don't worry, I'll make sure she's okay."

"I appreciate that." Leon glanced at his wrist watch. "Look, I can't stay. I'll have the guys pick her up."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to finish reading the report on BOW sightings in Europe, and then I am flying tomorrow. See you in DC?"

"Yeah. Chris is getting sent to Africa. I am meeting him in DC to gather the necessary documents for his trip."

"Africa?" he asked, perplexed. "Why Africa?"

"Your guess is as good mine. I will know the full details when I get there."

"Alright. I better go. Tell her I'll be in touch with her soon, will you?"

Claire nodded. "You bet."

With that, Leon glanced at Ashley's direction for the last time and left.

"Oh boy," Claire mumbled as she watched Leon speed off and disappear into the dark. "I feel like I've seen this before..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>_

_**Oh My God. **_

_**You guys rock! **_

_**I honestly am surprised that this is getting reviews cos I know that this pairing is not exactly the most popular, but hey... I gotta admit, the challenge of writing a love story about a very unpopular pairing is quite enjoyable :)  
><strong>_

_**I hope you like this one! I enjoyed writing this chapter! My favorite part is writing the conversation in the car between Leon and Ashley. I love discovering/exploring how these characters would interact with each other in a normal situation. It's just fun! :-)**_

**_Love you guys! It's almost over! I hope you stick with me till the end! (I'll get this finished before the year ends. Hopefully!) :-)_**

_**As usual, please allow me to reply to your awesome reviews!**_

Guest: Hi! I love RE fanfictions too! (especially Leon & Ashley of course haha) THANK YOU VERY MUCH for that comment, that means a lot! :-)

jackforce17: Thank you for liking that part! I like it too :)

akatsuki's-chick: Thank you so much! :-)

PerfectDreamer: Really? Wow, I am so glad to know that, you have no idea! It's really challenging to keep them in character, but I'm glad it's working out so far! I am excited to check out your fanfic! :) Thank you so much!

Guest (#2): Haha he did, didn't he? I swear it kind of made me smile when Leon said that line in RE6. It's like, wow, I have psychic abilities! lol

Antrxx: Haha Leon's funny :) Thank you very, very much!

haalyle: Thank you very much! :) I hope you like this one!

borismortys: Thanks for loving this chapter, I appreciate that! And yeah, I am curious as well! Hmmm :-)

BellaGirl7: Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I'm glad that it's turning out to be quite realistic (I do try!)! The last thing I want is OC because I want to believe the characters too. Yes, I totally agree. People hate on her but honestly, her personality was realistic in the game. Of course she wouldn't be able to defend herself, she was just a young college student who got thrown in a very unfortunate situation. Oh yeah, Ashley will meet Claire for the 1st time in the next chapter. Wooot! :-)

redfield09: Yes, totally! I think they have so much potential as a couple. Thank you so much! :)

nounbeast: Wow, thank you very much! I know, right? Leon is awkward with women. He's very good looking, but he's a total dork when it comes to girls. Oddly, that's one of his appealing traits. And I agree with what you said about Ashley. I also think she was down to earth, and cared about Leon. Glad you think the same way! :) No, THANK YOU for reading! I enjoy writing this so much!

Lynn Apple: Wow, thank you thank you thank you! I am so glad you like the way I portray those two! It is quite a challenge, I'm not gonna lie. But that's why I enjoy writing it, because I like the challenge of keeping them in character. :) Really? That's awesome! I hope good dream? :)

Madame Noize: Awwww thank you so much! I appreciate that you took the time to read and review! :)


	9. Girl talk

Ashley was roused from her sleep by the sound of a typing keyboard, but in her half-asleep state, she was unable to figure out what was happening. She stirred slightly and slowly opened her eyes. Lying on her side, she immediately noticed that she was in an unfamiliar place.

She was trying to remember where she was for a second, and it occurred to her that she was attending a party before she blacked out. Although, she found it odd that instead of music and people chattering, all she could hear was the sound of tapping on the keyboard. The source of the sound was too close to her, suggesting that there was someone nearby. Sitting upright, she immediately felt the stabbing pain in her head. "Ow!" she winced, holding her head.

Claire got up from her desk and immediately rushed to Ashley's side. "Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, Ashley just stared at the red head in front of her. She was trying to figure out who the stranger in front of her was, and she couldn't come up with anything. She didn't remember meeting her at the party either.

Claire smiled at her kindly, sensing what was going through her head. "You poor thing, you look confused. Spit it out."

"Where's everyone?"

"I don't know who's 'everyone', but you're in my apartment. Don't worry, you're safe here."

Ashley displayed a more confused facial expression. "I still don't understand."

Claire watched her and displayed sympathy. "You don't remember what happened to you? At all?"

Lowering her gaze, Ashley tried to remember what happened. "All I know is that Leon dropped me off at Eric's party, I met with Sara and joined our friends… I realized I was hungry and I started eating brownies… after that I felt really weird, and light, and sick…" Ashley narrated.

"What else do you remember?"

Ashley just shrugged her shoulders. "That's all I got."

Claire sighed. "You ingested laced brownies. I heard you ingested quite a lot."

Horrified, she looked up. "Those were laced brownies?" She remained speechless for a moment, as if trying to digest this information. "Oh my God…" she muttered with panic on her face, "I ate drugs?!"

Watching her reaction, Claire decided to calm her down, even though she was secretly amused. "Well, yes, but don't worry, the effect will wear off soon. You're gonna be okay. I promise."

Looking up, Ashley met her gaze and smiled slightly. Ashley felt comfortable with her right away. Whoever this person was, she exuded kindness. There was something about her that made her feel safe.

"You are…?" Ashley asked, trying to recall if she met this woman at the party.

"I'm Claire, I'm a friend of Leon's. He brought you here so someone can look after you."

Upon hearing Leon's name, Ashley became enthusiastic suddenly. "Leon? He brought me here?"

Claire nodded. "He told me what happened. He was really concerned, but he couldn't stay."

_She's too pretty to just be his friend, _Ashley thought.

"Where is he?"

"He is off to do something. He left in a hurry but he said he'll get in touch with you soon."

Although disappointed, Ashley tried to refrain from asking if he was coming back. She glanced at her wristwatch, and it read 12:45 am. _Already? How long have I been out? _She wondered and decided that it was time to go.

"I probably should go. I'm sorry for bothering you." As she was trying to stand, she felt so nauseous that she wanted to throw up. She closed her eyes and sat still. "Oh God," she muttered.

"You should probably stay for a little bit. In fact, I insist." Claire placed her palm on Ashley's forehead to see if she had fever. Luckily, her temperature was normal. "Let me get you something, I'll be right back." Claire came back with aspirin and a glass of water. "Take this. It'll make you feel better."

She took the medicine, praying that it would take effect soon.

"Are you hungry?"

She nodded.

Claire stood up and extended her hand to help her up. "C'mon then."

Ashley reached out and got up. She followed Claire to the kitchen. "Is cereal okay?"

Ashley let out a small smile. "I love cereal."

"Great. Have a seat! I'm sorry I didn't have anything prepared."

"I am the one who owes you an apology, Claire. Having a guest at this ungodly hour-" that prompted her to look at the wall clock on Claire's kitchen.

"It's okay. It's not every day that I get a famous person in my apartment," she glanced at her and winked.

Ashley let out a small laugh and started to work on her food. Her eyes quickly scanned the kitchen. It wasn't big, but it was perfect for one person. She noticed a picture on the refrigerator of Claire with Leon and some big guy. Could be her boyfriend, or brother.

Claire pulled up a chair right on the opposite side of the table. "Leon told me what happened in Spain. I am so sorry you had to go through that."

Leon told her? She thought it was supposed to be a top secret. Claire continued before Ashley could reply. "I work for Terra Save. These are the kinds of situations that we deal with. How are you holding up?"

That re-assurance made her feel comfortable to open up. "Not really doing so good lately. I don't think the flashbacks are gonna stop anytime soon."

Claire gave her a sympathetic look. She knew too well what this poor girl was going through. "Are you seeing a therapist?"

"I am. I hope she can help me."

Claire gave her a quick smile. "I'm sure you will be just fine."

"Thank you."

"Let me get you something to drink. Do you like hot chocolate?"

Ashley smiled coyly. "Sure."

"Perfect," she replied, getting up.

Watching Claire prepare her drink, Ashley wondered if she and Leon were more than friends. It did not seem impossible for the two of them to get attracted to each other, she thought. She wanted to laugh at herself for having such thoughts despite her condition.

After the initial bite, Ashley started a conversation. "I don't mean to pry but, are you and Leon…"

At first, Claire didn't understand what Ashley meant. But after a few moments, it finally clicked and she couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. "Oh no, no, no, no. Leon's my best friend."

This obviously sparked Ashley's interest. "Best friend?"

Carefully placing the hot chocolate in front of Ashley, Claire replied. "Yes. We go way back. He's like a family to me."

"How did you know each other?" Ashley asked casually.

Claire contemplated for a second before speaking. "I met him when he was still a new cop, and I was still in college. I may be revealing my age here, but that was six years ago. He was on duty, and I was looking for my brother. We were caught in chaos and escaped the city."

Ashley didn't hide the look of wonder and amazement on her face. "You are a Raccoon City survivor as well?"

"I am," she replied, preparing a warm glass of milk for herself. She then pulled a chair across Ashley and sat down.

"So… what happened to your brother? Did you ever find him?"

"Yes I did." Ashley displayed a look of relief on her face. "In fact, I'm going to see him tomorrow."

Ashley darted her eyes to the picture on the refrigerator once again. She noticed the BSAA logo on the other guy's uniform. "Is that your brother in the BSAA uniform?"

Claire looked over her shoulder to take a quick glimpse of the picture and confirmed. "Yup, that's my big brother."

"I've always wanted a big brother. You're lucky, Claire," she said, taking another spoonful.

"I love him but I've always wanted a little brother or sister."

"I have a little brother. Anytime you want to trade," Ashley smiled, and felt a little sad when she realized that she missed her little brother.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind," Claire shot back.

"So, tell me, are you and Leon really just friends all along?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you've been friends for seven years. Did you at least go out on a date?"

Claire glared at her like she had heard the most ridiculous thing ever. "Absolutely not. We hang out, sure, but I never really consider those as dates. I think I'm speaking for both of us when I say that we're better off as friends."

"How could you know that?"

"There was just no romantic connection. It would be like dating my brother."

"I see." She commented. "Here I am thinking I just found a perfect match for him. I guess I'm gonna have to keep looking."

Claire couldn't help but smile. She thought it was cute, and innocent in a way. "Is Leon's love life making you sad as well?" She joked.

Ashley showed no trace of humor, on the other hand. "I really do want to help him to find someone. I figured that's the least I could do after he went through all that trouble to save my life." She met Claire's gaze again and appealed to her. "Come on, don't you find him attractive?"

She found it amusing that someone who was suffering from effects of laced brownies could still think of such things. "Of course I do!"

"He's brave, he's smart, he's funny… did I miss anything?"

Finally sensing what Ashley meant, Claire teased her. "Sounds like someone's got a crush on Leon..."

Embarrassed, Ashley bowed to hide the rush of blood in her face. "I'm just telling the truth."

"You like him; I can see it in your eyes. I don't blame you. A lot of women do."

"And you don't?"

Claire laughed. "Ashley, I don't have feelings for Leon, if that's what you mean. I have a boyfriend, thank you very much."

Ashley sighed in defeat. "I guess I'm just gonna have to make him an online profile."

"Online profile?"

"Yes. You see, I am thinking of setting up an online profile for him on a dating site. What do you think? Is that too much?"

Claire couldn't help but giggle. "Are you serious?"

Ashley showed no trace of humor in her face. "I am serious. I'd like to think I can pull it off."

Claire pursed her lips, still trying to stifle her laughter. "It's not a bad idea, but I don't think he needs online dating to find someone. Trust me, he would not be able to log in to his account even if it saved his life. He's too busy."

"Well, why don't we convince him to try it? I couldn't hurt, right? 4 out of 5 relationships start online. I may have heard that somewhere."

"And I don't doubt that. It's just that… Leon's a special case," Claire pointed out, resting her chin on her palm.

"How?"

"It's not that he can't find someone. Leon has more prospects than any guy I know. You see, finding a girl is not the issue."

"Then, what is?"

"It's finding someone who is willing to put up with his lifestyle."

"Or maybe he's just picky."

"Picky? He's not picky, at least not any more picky than your average guy. In fact, he falls in love with a girl way too quickly," Claire revealed about her best friend. "Fun fact - if you can believe this - he has never broken up with a girl. He is always the one being dumped."

Ashley did not know whether Claire was joking or she was being serious. "I don't know if I can believe that."

Claire just stared at her with an amused facial expression. "I have no reason to lie."

"Really?" Ashley replied in disbelief.

"Don't let his muscles fool you, he is a big softie at heart."

Ashley immediately flashbacked to the night when Leon told her about the girl named Ada. That's when she first witnessed Leon's soft side.

"He mentioned this girl named Ada. Do you know her?"

"He told you about Ada?"

"He did. He said he loved her, but she betrayed him, or something like that."

"Wow. I can't believe he told you that."

"Is it bad?"

"No, no it's not. It's just that, he rarely opens up like that."

"Oh. Well, we were in the middle of nowhere, and we weren't sure if we were going to live, so I guess that helped." Why she was making excuses, she wasn't sure. "So do you know anything about Ada?"

Everytime Ada's name was brought up, Claire automatically had this feeling of intense dislike. "What can I say, he really did like her."

"What was she like?"

"I don't really know her that much. But Leon spoke highly of her. You should have met her in Spain, she was there.

"That's not possible, Ada is dead according to Leon…" Ashley recalled the pretty Asian girl that helped them escape. She put two and two together and it finally clicked. Ashley's widened in shock. "That's Ada?"

"Yes. She didn't die. It was all a part of her plan. Leon thought she was dead until she showed up in Spain."

Ashley hated the idea that this Ada person might be trying to lead Leon on again. She was definitely out of the equation.

Sighing, Ashley leaned back against her chair. "You're not in love with him, he can't do online dating, Ada is not to be trusted... What am I going to do? What do you suggest?"

Claire shrugged and shook her head. "I got nothing. I've introduced him to some of my friends, but they all didn't work out. Leon's situation is really tricky. But I don't doubt that he will meet his match."

Ashley fell silent, trying to absorb all of the information that she just gathered.

She decided that it was time to go. "This was fun, but think I better go. I don't want to take more of your time than I already do."

"Are you sure you're okay? If I let you go and you're not feeling well, Leon is not going to be happy."

Something about that last sentence made Ashley feel slightly giddy. "I'll be fine. Thanks for looking out for me, Claire," She said, getting up.

Claire got up as well and walked towards Ashley. "Don't mention it!"

"I had a great time. I'm so glad we met." Ashley said, beaming.

"I had a great time as well." Claire smiled genuinely.

Ashley stepped forward and gave her a hug. Claire hugged back and pulled away gently. She walked her to the door and watched her make her way to the black limousine.

"Ashley!"

Ashley turned around upon hearing her name.

"You don't need to look too far. That would be my only suggestion."

Although she was confused by this, she gave Claire a smile and a small nod before continuing to head towards the limo.

She was going to face another battle tomorrow, but all she wanted to do at the moment is getting rid of the drug in her system.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's notes: <strong>_

_**Hi there! Do I still have readers left? Sorry once again, this took so long! I really spend a lot of time editing and editing and editing... I am never ever satisfied, but here you go! This is one of those chapters where it's either good or really bad. I don't know, but I put a lot of effort in it. :) I really want to thank you for reading and leaving reviews! That is amazing to me, I will never not get excited when I read your comments! :)**_

_**So Ashley and Claire met! Yay! I really like these two characters. I've always wondered how they would interact when they meet, and this is how I picture them together. I hope you like it!**_

**_Please allow me to respond to your wonderful comments. I hope it's okay :-)_**

**_Antrxx: Yes, poor thing. Never eat brownies at a frat's party. Smh. I guess she learned it the hard way._**

**_Madame Noize: Wow, really? That's so cool, thanks for saying that. That is such a big compliment. :)_**

**_James: Thank you so much!_**

**_nounbeast: Yeah, no kidding! Those are not fun at all... I wrote that chapter based on personal experience (not mine haha), but yes, it's not fun. Yeah. seriously, Claire is awesome! I really want them to meet. I really do appreciate your comment! It is always my goal to stick to canon, and I'm glad it's working out. Seriously, thank you :)_**

**_Gwenniegirl Kennedy: Aww thank you so much! I kind of based it on a real life event haha :) _**

**_dartsangel: Thank you so very much! :) You don't know how much that makes me happy :)_**

**_ashleyXleon: Thank you so so so much! :) I am really happy to know that! Haha I love writing Leon as a dense character, it's just funny!_**

**_Guest: Aww I'm so happy to know that you like what I write! That's so freaking cool. :) I hope this chapter will make you like me, since I put CLaire and a little bit of Chris. :)_**

**_Meinos Kaen: WOW! Hi There! Thank you so much! :) I did read your detailed review and I am really thankful that you took the time to write an extensive review! :) Thank you for your pointers, I will keep them in mind. That was amazing. I enjoyed reading that! :) I'm so happy, you don't even know_**

**_Blademaster88: Thank you, master! I will try my very best :)_**

**_Hermes tonsils: Thank you so much! _**

**_Haalyle : Thank you so much! Hope you like this one! :)_**


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